| Author |
Ainsworth, William Harrison, 1805-1882 |
| Illustrator |
Gilbert, John, 1817-1897 |
| Title |
The Lancashire Witches: A Romance of Pendle Forest
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| Note |
Reading ease score: 77.0 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read.
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| Note |
Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lancashire_Witches
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| Credits |
Produced by Clare Boothby, Jon King and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team.
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| Summary |
"The Lancashire Witches: A Romance of Pendle Forest" by William Harrison Ainsworth is a historical novel written in the mid-19th century. Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous events surrounding the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536, the story explores themes of witchcraft, rebellion, and the struggle for religious and social justice in Lancashire. Key characters include the determined Abbot John Paslew, the enigmatic witch Nicholas Demdike, and the beautiful yet tragic Bess, whose intertwining fates reflect the era's conflicts and beliefs. The opening of the novel introduces us to the foreboding setting of Pendle Hill, where watchers are on guard awaiting a beacon signal to rally for rebellion against the suppression of the Catholic Church. Among them stands Abbot Paslew, who is concerned about the enemies he faces, including treachery within and powerful external foes. As the night progresses, he learns of the imminent failure of the rebellion and is faced with the dark influence of the wizard Demdike, who has ominous news about the fate of the uprising and the kingdom. The tension escalates with the ominous sense of supernatural elements at play, especially concerning the witch Bess and the dire consequences of her child remaining unbaptized. This sets the stage for a tale woven with elements of fate, conflict, and the struggle between good and evil amidst a historical framework. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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| Language |
English |
| LoC Class |
PR: Language and Literatures: English literature
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| Subject |
Witches -- Fiction
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| Subject |
Lancashire (England) -- Fiction
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| Category |
Text |
| EBook-No. |
15493 |
| Release Date |
Mar 29, 2005 |
| Most Recently Updated |
Dec 14, 2020 |
| Copyright Status |
Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads |
314 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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