A riveting historical drama of the first published rape trial in American history and its long, shattering aftermath, revealing how much has changed over two centuries - and how much has not.
John Callow Knihy
Tento autor zkoumá složitost lidské psychiky a společenských vztahů. Jeho díla se vyznačují pronikavým vhledem do lidské povahy a poutavým vypravěčským stylem. S hlubokým porozuměním pro nuance lidské zkušenosti autor vytváří příběhy, které čtenáře nutí k zamyšlení. Jeho psaní je důkazem jeho schopnosti zachytit podstatu lidské existence.
"Intriguing." BBC History MagazineOn 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their example was cited during the final Parliamentary debates, in 1951, that saw the last of the witchcraft acts repealed, and their names were chanted, as both inspiration and incantation, by the women beyond the wire at Greenham Common.In this book, John Callow explores this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.
James Stanley, the 7th Earl of Derby, played a crucial role in the Civil War in Lancashire and held significant governance over the North-West of England for 25 years. As the Lord of the Isle of Man, he wielded quasi-royal powers and cultivated a vibrant court culture marked by poetry, plays, and masques, reflecting the artistic and social dynamics of his time. His influence extended beyond politics, shaping the cultural landscape of the region during a tumultuous period in English history.
