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The Witches of St Osyth Marion Gibson (University of Exeter)

The Witches of St Osyth By Marion Gibson (University of Exeter)

The Witches of St Osyth by Marion Gibson (University of Exeter)

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£25.50
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Condition - Very Good
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Summary

The first complete history of the neglected St Osyth witch-trial, this book tells the compelling, revelatory story of a community ripped asunder. It hauntingly reveals the lost worlds of Elizabethan villagers caught up in persecution, the magistrate who investigated their accusations of witchcraft and the writer who published their story.

The Witches of St Osyth Summary

The Witches of St Osyth by Marion Gibson (University of Exeter)

An emotive, haunting story of a community torn apart, the Essex witch accusations and trial of 1581-2 are, taken together, one of the pivotal instances of that malign and destructive wave of misogynistic persecution which periodically broke over early modern England. Yet, for all their importance in the overall study of witchcraft, the so-called witches of St Osyth have largely been overlooked by scholars. Marion Gibson now sets right that neglect. Using fresh archival sources - and investigating not just the village itself, but also its neighbouring Elizabethan hamlets and habitations - the author offers revelatory new insights into the sixteen women and one man accused of sorcery while asking wider, provocative questions about the way history is recollected and interpreted. Combining landscape detective work, a reconstruction of lost spaces and authoritative readings of crucial documents, Gibson skilfully unlocks the poignant personal histories of those denied the chance to speak for themselves.

The Witches of St Osyth Reviews

'This terrific book is that of a historian at the top of her game, bringing all her knowledge, research skills, and writing ability to the task. In so doing, Marion Gibson has made an important addition to our knowledge of Elizabethan witchcraft. But the text is also written for a more general audience and is engagingly written with that audience in mind too. Thus, the book has all the virtues of a 'crossover' study that will appeal both to the academic specialist and the more general reader. It demonstrates that good history writing can be erudite as well as entertaining.' Philip Almond, University of Queensland
'This terrific book is that of a historian at the top of her game, bringing all her knowledge, research skills, and writing ability to the task. It demonstrates that good history can be erudite as well as entertaining.' Philip Almond, University of Queensland
'Marion Gibson is a very well-established and respected scholar with a particular reputation for expertise in the kind of sources she uses so effectively in this book. She is able to combine here first-rate academic research with a popular and accessible literary style. The book takes a very famous English witchcraft case and supplies genuinely new material by which that case may be understood, both by a close rereading of the celebrated text and by a contextualisation of it in a range of hitherto completely untapped local records.' Ronald Hutton, University of Bristol
'Marion Gibson is able to combine here first-rate academic research with a popular and accessible literary style.' Ronald Hutton, University of Bristol
'An excellent monograph and contribution to the field of witchcraft studies.' Diane Purkiss, University of Oxford
'This is a riveting piece of historical detective work ... Marion Gibson is an expert historian and a superb writer.' Malcolm Gaskill, BBC History Magazine
'A small triumph of popular scholarship.' David Aaronovitvch, The Times
'A remarkable book ... Gibson's sensitive reconstruction reads against the grain, draws on archival finds and reimagines lost magical landscapes.' Jan Machielsen, Times Literary Supplement

About Marion Gibson (University of Exeter)

Marion Gibson is Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Fascinated by witches' stories for nearly thirty years, she is the author of Reading Witchcraft (1999), Early Modern Witches (2000), Witchcraft and Society (2003), Witchcraft Myths in American Culture (2007), Imagining the Pagan Past (2013), Rediscovering Renaissance Witchcraft (2017) and Witchcraft: The Basics (2018). In addition she serves as General Editor of the Cambridge University Press series Elements in Magic.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Welcome to St Osyth; 1. St Osyth: Grace, Ursley, Annis and Ales; 2. The Darcy Lands: Elizabeth, Ales, Margerie and Joan; 3. Little Clacton: Cisley and Henry; 4. The Sokens: Ales, Margaret, Elizabeth and Joan; 5. Little Oakley and Beaumont cum Moze: Annis; 6. An untrue and unjust record; Conclusion: Once more with feeling.

Additional information

GOR013198316
9781108494670
1108494676
The Witches of St Osyth by Marion Gibson (University of Exeter)
Marion Gibson (University of Exeter)
Used - Very Good
Hardback
Cambridge University Press
2022-12-22
256
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - The Witches of St Osyth