Richard Cavendish (occult writer)


Richard Cavendish was a British historian who wrote extensively on the subjects of occultism, religion, the tarot, mythology, and English history.

Personal life

Cavendish was born in 1930 at Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, the son of a Church of England clergyman. He lived with his partner in the United States for eight years, in New York City and Los Angeles. His daughter is journalist and life peer Camilla Cavendish, Baroness Cavendish of Little Venice.

Career

Cavendish was educated at Christ's Hospital and at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he specialized in medieval studies. He wrote both on the political and social history of Great Britain and on the history of folk magic and occultism in the British Isles and Europe. Among his best-known works are The Black Arts, The Tarot, A History of Magic, and the 24-volume set Man, Myth & Magic, which he both edited and contributed to. He also wrote regularly for the British journal History Today.
Cavendish's work is highly regarded for its depth of research and agnostic stance towards its sometimes controversial subject matter. Books like The Black Arts and The Powers of Evil in Western Religion, Magic and Folk Belief were written for a lay audience rather than for scholars.

Partial bibliography