Richard Cavendish (12 August 1930 – 21 October 2016) was a British historian who was considered Britain's foremost authority on the subjects of occultism, religion, the tarot, and mythology.[1][2]
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 the journalist and life peer Camilla Cavendish.[1]
Cavendish was educated at Christ's Hospital and at Brasenose College, Oxford, where he specialized in medieval studies.[2] 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.[2] Among his best-known works are The Black Arts: A Concise History of Witchcraft, Demonology, Astrology, and Other Mystical Practices Throughout the Ages, The Tarot, A History of Magic, and the 24-volume set Man, Myth & Magic, which he both edited and contributed to.[1] He also wrote regularly for the British journal History Today.[3]
The Daily Telegraph said that Cavendish was considered "an authority on magic, myth, and witchcraft" and that his work was highly regarded for its depth of research and agnostic stance towards its sometimes controversial subject matter.[2] Some of his books like The Black Arts: A Concise History of Witchcraft, Demonology, Astrology, and Other Mystical Practices Throughout the Ages and The Powers of Evil in Western Religion, Magic and Folk Belief were written for a lay audience rather than for scholars, and had become bestsellers with The Black Arts passing its 40th edition.[2] In his 2016 obituary, The Times described him as: "Gregarious author and historian who became Britain's foremost authority on the occult while steadfastly refusing to dabble himself."[1]
