What are the most dangerous books in the world? Some might nominate the founding texts of our major religions, which through misinterpretation and manipulation have led to the suVering of millions over the centuries. Others
might point to deWning modern political works such as Karl Marx’s Das Kapital,Hitler’s Mein Kampf, or Chairman Mao’s Little Red Book. Fiction can also gravely oVend public sensibilities, as we have seen in recent decades with book burnings of the Satanic Verses and Harry Potter novels. But for many down the millennia and across the globe no books have been more feared than grimoires: then again, no
books have been more valued and revered.‘Grimoire’ has a familiar ring to many people, particularly following thepopularity of such ‘teen witch’ dramas as BuVy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed, but few people are sure what it means, and my computer spellchecker certainly does not know what to make of it. Put simply, then, grimoires are books of conjurations and charms, providing instructions on how to make magical objects such as protective amulets and talismans.