James Sharpe (1)Reviews

A solid and complete history of English witchcraft through the Tudor, Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. No trial goes unmarked or unnoticed, and Sharpe offers the reader a wide variety. And English witchcraft is it's own animal. It is a combination of their own folk and traditional practices, Continental theology, and the singular Anglican Church. "There was no single hegemonic attitude...but rather a plurality of possible positions." The English construction of Christianity allowed for belief in ghosts, fairies and all sorts of spirits. So it was not a great leap to witchcraft once the right religious and political circumstances emerged.

The book also dispels a lot of myths:
1) Men AND women were convicted. Men more often for "cozening" or "cunning" and women for "maleficium"
2) Accused were sentenced to hang not burned (unless they committed treason)
3) The stats actually prove James I's reign actually had less convictions than during Elizabeth I'd reign
4) Pacts with the devil and having familiars are distinctly English
5) Exorcism was equated with popery and was banned in cases of possession and witchcraft.
6) Women made up the largest number of not only the accused, but the accusers.
7) People weren't brought to court for petty acts like spoiled milk or a sick pig. Accusations like that were added on after more serious crimes.

The author wholly acknowledges the works of researchers that came before him, and how interpretations have evolved over time. The records of the Home Office will always be incomplete, especially during this time period, but Sharpe utilizes it to the fullest. I consider this one an excellent resource.

It all began when Anne fell ill in the summer of 1604. Her father suspected “hysteria” of course, but this evolves into violent fits, vomiting pins, and bodily contortions. All the tell-tale signs of English witchcraft. Predictably, her father alerts anyone and everyone to come see for themselves. When asked who hurt her so, Anne accuses Elizabeth Gregory, the town scold, and Agnes and Mary Pepwell, local mother and daughter vagrants.

Pretty textbook right? Well, turns out, Anne was a victim of horrific abuse at home. There was bad blood between the Gunters and the Gregorys, thanks to Anne’s father. The Pepwells were just easy targets. Anne’s sickness was simply an opportunity. Drugged, Anne sees and hears what she is told by her father. Cunning men and doctors are called to assist, lending support to the accusation of witchcraft when no remedy is found. Finally, her case reaches the academics at Oxford. Confident in his connections, her father hopes to gather enough evidence to hang the witches. But these are no small town folk, and things do not go as planned. Overestimating his case, Anne is brought before King James I himself, who won't be fooled...

I really liked this book, as I knew I would. Sharpe was actually inspired to write “The Bewitching of Anne Gunter” while researching for "Instruments of Darkness" which I also enjoyed. This case is so unique in many ways and extraordinary in its proceedings.

Interesting and readable history of the meanings and methods of celebrating Guy Fawkes Day. As an American, though, I wished I had a better grounding in British history prior to reading it.

examination of a case of faked bewitchment tried before James I

The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 represents what is perhaps the greatest failed terrorist plot in history, an attempt by a group of disaffected Catholics to blow up James I and the assembled political elites of the English nation as they gathered for the opening of Parliament. As James Sharpe demonstrates in this book, the subsequent commemoration of the event came to assume added meaning. Over the course of the 17th century the anniversary of the event became an opportunity to celebrate a type of Protestant English identity. As hostility towards Catholicism ebbed in the 18th century, however, the anti-Catholic nature of the celebrations changed into more of a focus on the figure of Guy Fawkes, as the celebrations were gradually disconnected from their meaning. Sharpe's analysis of all of this is very interesting, as it not only describes the changing meaning of Guy Fawkes Day but also sheds light as to how the understanding of events change as attitudes evolve over time.

In Stock
Price 30.00 GBP

This week seemed like an appropriate time to grab this off the TBR shelf and give it a look-see. A fairly conventional cultural history of Guy Fawkes day, with some interesting anecdotes and origin stories, and a thorough-going account of how the way the day is celebrated has varied from place to place and as the centuries have passed. Unfortunately the book is not footnoted to the extent that it could (and probably should) be, which is my main quibble with it.½

The legend about Dick Turpin is long. The truth is short.

This book includes almost all of the latter. Living as he did in the eighteenth century, it isn't easy to dig up much real information. James Sharpe has done a fine job both of locating it and of sifting it -- for sift it we must; there was a popular industry of "gallows confessions" in Turpin's time, and these were almost always amplified to make a particular point.

But no one reads about Dick Turpin to find out what actually happened, any more than they go to political rallies to try to determine the truth. Sharpe also looks at the legend, and the place of William Harrison Ainsworth in creating the story as we now know it. Thus we both learn about Turpin and we learn about the Turpin legend. Odds are that at least one of the two won't appeal to you. But this well-written book will give you a chance to make a fair judgment.

Almost everything people know about Dick Turpin and highwaymen is myth. The historical truth is much nastier, more brutal and bloody. As Dick Turpin went to the scaffold in York in 1739 he was determined to look his best. The previous day he had had a new frock coat and pumps delivered to him in the condemned man's cell in York Castle Prison. And he paid £3 and 10 shillings for five men to act as mourners. Who was this notorious highwayman and why did he become so famous? What did he do to become the subject of such extraordinary myths? Most of all, why are highwaymen romantic figures? We have highwayman now: we call them muggers and car-jackers and we don't sing ballads about them or eulogise them for their brave exploits. This is a masterly biography of one of Britain's best-known criminals - but it is also an examination of the cult of the highwayman, of crime in the 18th century and the treatment of criminals. In the absence of any police force how were crimes solved? Who did the detective work? And did the criminals get a fair trial - an important question if you were going to hang from the neck for a relatively minor misdemeanour. Was there a criminal underclass and did people really live in terror of going on the roads at night?

My Thoughts:

A very detailed account of highwaymen in general and the crimes that they committed. A well researched book but I felt there could have been more about Dick Turpin as there were only a couple of chapters that concentrated on him. I felt a little bogged down at times and that the book was rambling on. This is probably because I don’t cope with factual books very well and do prefer to read about real people in fictional form.

A good reserched book if somebody wants to read about Dick Turpin and fellow highwaymen of the times.

The only think I knew about Dick Turpin was the 1979 tv series. :-)
Enough reason to pick up this book, though.

It's a good read, pretty easy to follow. James Sharpe does provide a lot of background info (also about the myth and the history of crime in 17th and 18th century England), but it doesn't get boring.

I think it's nice to be able to put things into perspective. Glad I read it.½

Remember Remember by James Sharpe is a engaging read about the celebrations of the November 5th Plot through the ages. The events of 1605 are studied as they happened, and as they were celebrated in the decades and centuries following. English anti-Catholicism, or anti-popery are judged in terms of who was being burnt in effigy, so the role of holiday symbolism in controlling the masses is central. From a patriotic holiday in its early days, degenerating into an excuse for a drunken brawl as the centuries passed Guy’s day is show to be an evolving holiday. There are some fun chapters on fireworks manufacture, but they seem to be far afield from the topic at hand, but do make for amusing reading. Torture, in particular Drawn and Quartered scenes are done in detail the victorians would have put on a top shelf, in the back…. REMEMBER REMEMBER is a good read, stretched to mention 9/11 and the modern day -- but a good read.

James Sharpe is a well known historian on the topic of witchcraft in early modern England. The witchcraft trials in England were different from their contiental counterparts and that becomes apparent in this book. Sharpe comes to some great conclusions. Mr. Sharpe analyzed how tensions between church, state, and society were able to produce such widespread fear that led to the witchcraft accusations and trials. I really enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to learn more about the subject.

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