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Currently, Jan Bondeson's The London Monster, a history of the attacks on women in London 1788 (as mentioned in From Hell as one of the occurrences in the supposed 'violence timeline' - 1788, 1888, 1938, 1963 etc) and the trials of the man accused of being the monster, Rhynwick Williams.
Bondeson's style is immensely appealing, combining a thorough examination of the facts with humour and utter disdain for the stupidity of members of the authorities involved, members of the public when overcome by mass hysteria and the press in their ability to create even more of a panic than the Monster him(her?it?)self.
Waiting on the shelf are A Cabinet of Medical Curiosities and The Feejee Mermaid, both by the same author (Bondeson's a very human historian, letting his disgust at the way some of his subjects were treated both in life and death - the 'Ape Woman' Julia Pastrana and the 'Sicilian Fairy' Caroline Crachami, for example - come out in his writing) and the complete Witchcraft and Magic in Europe series of books edited by Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark. I've decided that my life needs some weirding up.
[ 23-03-2002: Message edited by: E. Randy Dupre ] |
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