| Description |
xvii, 364 p. : ill., map ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (p. 287-345) and index. |
| Contents |
I: Complication -- Origins -- Strange effects -- The initiation -- Dark horizons -- First blood -- II: Unravelling -- Malignants -- Hellish invention -- Contagion -- Sticklers -- The biter bit. |
| Summary |
"By spring 1645, two years of civil war had exacted a dreadful toll upon England. People lived in terror as disease and poverty spread, and the nation grew ever more politically divided. In a remote corner of Essex, two obscure gentlemen, Matthew Hopkins and John Stearne, exploited the anxiety and lawlessness of the time and initiated a brutal campaign to drive out the presumed evil in their midst ... Malcolm Gaskill retells the story of the most savage witch-hunt in English history ... Though their campaign was never legally sanctioned, they garnered the popular support of local gentry, clergy, and villagers ... [This story] serves as a reminder of the power of fear and fanaticism to fuel ordinary people's willingness to demonize others"--Dust jacket. |
| Subject |
Witchcraft -- England -- East Anglia -- History -- 17th century.
|
|
Hopkins, Matthew, -1647.
|
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Stearne, John, active 17th century.
|
| ISBN |
0674019768 (alk. paper) |
|
9780674019768 (alk. paper) |
| Standard No. |
NLGGC 277811457 |
|
