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

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Callow, John, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Witch hunting--England--History.

Witch hunting.

Witches--England--History.

Witches.

Trials (Witchcraft)--England--Bideford.

Trials (Witchcraft).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (353 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Distribution:

[London, England] : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021

Place of Publication:

London [England] : Bloomsbury Academic, 2021.

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their example was cited during the final Parliamentary debates, in 1951, that saw the last of the witchcraft acts repealed, and their names were chanted, as both inspiration and incantation, by the women beyond the wire at Greenham Common.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:

Illustrations

Acknowledgements

A Note on Dating & Terminology

Prologue: The Magpie at the Window

Chapter One: Fortune My Foe

Chapter Two: England's Golden Bay

Chapter Three: An Underground Religion

Chapter Four: The Cat, the Pig and the Poppet

Chapter Five: The Stolen Apple & a Farthing's Worth of Tobacco

Chapter Six: A Fine Gentleman Dressed All in Black

Chapter Seven: The Discourse of the Sleepy Chimney

Chapter Eight: The Politics of Death Chapter Nine: At the House of the White Witch

Chapter Ten: Where are the Witches? The Crafting of Memory and Survival

Endnotes

Bibliography.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN:

9781350196155

1350196150

9781350196148

1350196142

OCLC:

1238133431