1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910828198303321

Autore

Davies Owen <1969-, >

Titolo

Murder, magic, madness : the Victorian trials of Dove and the Wizard / / Owen Davies

Pubbl/distr/stampa

London : , : Routledge, , 2014

ISBN

1-317-86755-6

1-315-83533-9

1-317-86756-4

1-281-38465-8

9786611384654

1-4082-1159-9

Edizione

[1st ed.]

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (262 p.)

Disciplina

364.1523092

Soggetti

Murder - England - History - 19th century

Witchcraft - England - History - 19th century

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

"First published 2005 by Pearson Education Limited"--T.p. verso.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Cover; Half Title; Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; Introduction; Acknowledgements; Publishers' Acknowledgements; List of Illustrations; 1 An inauspicious start in life; 2 A wizard's business; 3 Poisonous relations; 4 Dove in the dock; 5 Mad or bad?; 6 Fate; 7 Hunting Harrison down; Epilogue; Bibliography; Index

Sommario/riassunto

In 1856 William Dove, a young tenant farmer, was tried and executed for the poisoning of his wife Harriet. The trial might have been a straightforward case of homicide, but because Dove became involved with Henry Harrison, a Leeds wizard, and demonstrated through his actions and words a strong belief in magic and the powers of the devil, considerable effort was made to establish whether these beliefs were symptomatic of insanity. It seems that Dove murdered his wife to hasten a prediction made by Harrison that he would remarry a more attractive and wealthy woman. Dove employed Harrison to p