The last witches of England : a tragedy of sorcery and superstition / John Callow.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Callow, John, Ph. D., author.

Contributor:

Dr. Ada H. Lewis Book Fund.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Edwards, Susanna, -1682.

Trembles, Mary, -1682.

Lloyd, Temperance, -1682.

Trials (Witchcraft)--England--Devon--History--17th century.

Trials (Witchcraft).

Lloyd, Temperance, -1682--Trials, litigation, etc.

Lloyd, Temperance.

Trembles, Mary, -1682--Trials, litigation, etc.

Trembles, Mary.

Edwards, Susanna, -1682--Trials, litigation, etc.

Edwards, Susanna.

History.

Bideford (England)--History--17th century.

Bideford (England).

England--Bideford.

England--Devon.

Genre:

History.

Trials, litigation, etc.

Physical Description:

xv, 333 pages: illustrations (black and white) ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2022.

Summary:

"On the morning of Thursday 29 June 1682, a magpie came rasping, rapping and tapping at the window of a prosperous Devon merchant. Frightened by its appearance, his servants and members of his family had, within a matter of hours, convinced themselves that the bird was an emissary of the devil sent by witches to destroy the fabric of their lives. As the result of these allegations, three women of Bideford came to be forever defined as witches. A Secretary of State brushed aside their case and condemned them to the gallows; to hang as the last group of women to be executed in England for the crime. Yet, the hatred of their neighbours endured. For Bideford, it was said, was a place of witches. Though 'pretty much worn away' the belief in witchcraft still lingered on for more than a century after their deaths. In turn, ignored, reviled, and extinguished but never more than half-forgotten, it seems that the memory of these three women - and of their deeds and sufferings, both real and imagined - was transformed from canker to regret, and from regret into celebration in our own age. Indeed, their example was cited during the final Parliamentary debates, in 1951, that saw the last of the witchcraft acts repealed, and their names were chanted, as both inspiration and incantation, by the women beyond the wire at Greenham Common. In this book, John Callow explores this remarkable reversal of fate, and the remarkable tale of the Bideford Witches"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Fortune my foe

England's golden bay

An underground religion

The stolen apple

Blood and curses

A fine gentleman dressed all in black

The discourse of the sleepy chimney

The politics of death

Disenchantment

At the house of the white witch

Coda: where are the witches?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Dr. Ada H. Lewis Book Fund.

Other Format:

Online version: Callow, John, Last witches of England

ISBN:

9781788314398

1788314395

OCLC:

1179048097

Publisher Number:

99989037244