WITCH STORIES
Book Details + Condition: Chapman and Hall (London). First Edition, 1861. Hardcover with three-quarters leather binding, marbled boards and endpapers, and gilt detailing to spine. 428 pages. One of the most well known collections of historical witch stories — recorded cases in England and Scotland — gathered by Eliza Lynn Linton (1822-1898), the first female salaried journalist in Great Britain, and the author of more than twenty novels. She was also a regular contributor to both of Charles Dickens' weekly magazines. In this work, Linton presents recorded cases of witchcraft in Scotland and England — gathered to allow every reader to "judge for himself" the truth and nature of witchcraft. From the Preface: "In offering the following collection of witch stories to the public... I was obliged to be content with such authorities as I found in the British Museum, and the other public libraries to which I had access." (Apparently she tried to access the more valuable private collections, without luck.) Historical overviews of witchcraft include:
- The Witches of Scotland
- Bessie Dunlop and Thom Reid
- The Crimes of Lady Fowlis
- The Devil's Secretary
- The Troubles of Aberdeen
- White Witches
- Sandie and the Devil
- 1643
- The Devil of Glenluce
- The Witches of Auldearne
- The Succubus
- The Renfrewshire Witches
- The Plague of Cats
- The Witches of England
- Early Historic Trials
- The Man of Hope and the Devil
- The Possessed Maid of Thames Street
- The Witches of Lancashire
- The Witch on a Plank
- The Astral Spirits Assault
- Julian's Toads
- And many more.
From the massive occult collection of King Lawrence Parker - academic, dissertation author, and book collector extraordinaire. A beautifully bound uncommon first edition with firm binding; lightly rubbed corners and edges; normal light aging and wear to boards; Parker's bookplate to inside front board; Parker's and another former owner's info to ffep and title page; first blank page appears to have been removed; interior is clean and free of markings.
