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"A fascinating tale of witchcraft and skulduggery in darkest Yorkshire in the early 19th century. . . . An extraordinary story, brilliantly told." --Books Monthly On the morning of March 20, 1809, the woman who had earned herself the title of "The Yorkshire Witch" was hanged at York's New Drop gallows before an estimated crowd of twenty thousand people--many of them victims of her hoaxes and extortion. A consummate con artist, Mary Bateman was adept at identifying the psychological weaknesses of the desperate and poor who populated the growing industrial metropolis of Leeds. Exploiting their fears and terror of witchcraft, Mary was well placed to rob them of their worldly goods, yet she did much more than cause misery and penury. Though tried and convicted of only one murder, the contemporary belief that she was a serial killer is doubtlessly accurate. A meticulously researched retelling of Mary Bateman's life and death, and the macabre legacy of her mortal remains, The Yorkshire Witch is also a "wealth of social history . . . about the lives of servants; housing conditions . . . the rise in religious fervour . . . the prevalence of superstitious beliefs . . . accounts of early toxicology; how crimes were prosecuted; the treatment of female convicts; and public executions" (Crime Review).… (más)
I recieved this book from Netgalley and Pen and Sword History in exchange for a honest and fair review. Thank you!
I enjoyed this book. It tells the story of Mary Bateman, an English criminal and alleged witch, the Yorkshire Witch. During the 1780s, she became a minor thief and con artist who often convinced many of her victims she possessed supernatural powers. A con-artist, she seems to have had little moral principles, always on the look out for a soft target.
In 1806 she created the hoax known as The Prophet Hen of Leeds, in which eggs laid by a hen were purported to predict the end times. She also became a prominent fortune-teller and gave potions to her "clients" to ward off evil spirits.
Her downfall came when she poisoned Rebecca Perigo...... But that's for you to read. ;)
A factual and genuinely interesting book, I had never heard of Mary Bateman, and the author managed to keep my interest up to the read. ( )
Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
When Mary Bateman was born, she was of so little importance that the date of her birth went unrecorded.
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Información procedente del conocimiento común inglés.Edita para encontrar en tu idioma.
Human remains, particularly of those who gained a measure of notoriety in life, acquire new meanings as they pass through the hands of different practitioners, custodians, and collectors; consideration should be given to the journey such remains have taken to reach anatomy departments, museum displays, even the auction room, and whether or not Mary Bateman has indeed earned herself a measure of immortality, albeit by virtue of a dubious reputation, whether she is destined to 'rest in peace' - or in pieces - regardless of her name being damned 'to everlasting fame,' only time will tell.
"A fascinating tale of witchcraft and skulduggery in darkest Yorkshire in the early 19th century. . . . An extraordinary story, brilliantly told." --Books Monthly On the morning of March 20, 1809, the woman who had earned herself the title of "The Yorkshire Witch" was hanged at York's New Drop gallows before an estimated crowd of twenty thousand people--many of them victims of her hoaxes and extortion. A consummate con artist, Mary Bateman was adept at identifying the psychological weaknesses of the desperate and poor who populated the growing industrial metropolis of Leeds. Exploiting their fears and terror of witchcraft, Mary was well placed to rob them of their worldly goods, yet she did much more than cause misery and penury. Though tried and convicted of only one murder, the contemporary belief that she was a serial killer is doubtlessly accurate. A meticulously researched retelling of Mary Bateman's life and death, and the macabre legacy of her mortal remains, The Yorkshire Witch is also a "wealth of social history . . . about the lives of servants; housing conditions . . . the rise in religious fervour . . . the prevalence of superstitious beliefs . . . accounts of early toxicology; how crimes were prosecuted; the treatment of female convicts; and public executions" (Crime Review).
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I enjoyed this book. It tells the story of Mary Bateman, an English criminal and alleged witch, the Yorkshire Witch. During the 1780s, she became a minor thief and con artist who often convinced many of her victims she possessed supernatural powers. A con-artist, she seems to have had little moral principles, always on the look out for a soft target.
In 1806 she created the hoax known as The Prophet Hen of Leeds, in which eggs laid by a hen were purported to predict the end times. She also became a prominent fortune-teller and gave potions to her "clients" to ward off evil spirits.
Her downfall came when she poisoned Rebecca Perigo...... But that's for you to read. ;)
A factual and genuinely interesting book, I had never heard of Mary Bateman, and the author managed to keep my interest up to the read. (