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Hoax
Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment
Brief Description
Here lies Fanny Lynes, whose whispers from beyond the grave set London alight with scandal. Here swings Mary Bateman, who lived a life of lies—and died a prophetess and murderer. Here stands Mary Willcocks. Or is it Anne Burgess? Or Princess Caraboo, from the distant island...
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Format: Hardback
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See moreThe History Hit presenter's spellbinding history unpicks the stories of three incredible eighteenth-century hoaxes
The History Hit presenter's spellbinding history unpicks the stories of three incredible eighteenth-century hoaxes
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Description
Here lies Fanny Lynes, whose whispers from beyond the grave set London alight with scandal. Here swings Mary Bateman, who lived a life of lies—and died a prophetess and murderer. Here stands Mary Willcocks. Or is it Anne Burgess? Or Princess Caraboo, from the distant island of Javasu?
A ghost. A witch. A princess. This is a story of those who lie. And of those who choose to believe them.
The discoveries of the Enlightenment unsettled as much as they excited. New truths challenged longstanding beliefs. Rationalism jarred with superstition. Which voices would be heard in this ferocious battle for certainty?
From the chaos, three women and their hoaxes rose as symbols of terror and fascination. But were the lies surrounding Fanny Lynes, Mary Bateman and Mary Willcocks entirely of their own making? Why were the public transfixed?
Questioning culpability and complicity, Pelling's engrossing history of this great age of the hoax reveals a veiled world of moral panic, tall tales and true crime, and holds a mirror to our own turbulent relationship with truth.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781805222354
Publisher: Profile Books Ltd
Format: Hardback
Date Published: 07 May 2026
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Profile Books Ltd
Edition: Main
Illustration: 2-3 b/w integrated ills throughout per chapter
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 34.0mm
Width: 158.0mm
Height: 238.0mm
Weight: 580g
Pages: 368
About the Author
Madeleine Pelling is co-host of History Hit's popular After Dark podcast and author of Writing On the Wall. She is an award-winning cultural historian, author and broadcaster. A regular contributor for television and radio, she also writes for the Guardian, Independent, BBC History Magazine and History Today, amongst others.
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