Murder, Magic, Madness

Download or read book Murder, Magic, Madness written by Owen Davies and published by Pearson Education. This book was released on 2005 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1856 William Dove poisoned his wife, was tried and executed. Believing a fortune tellers prediction that he would remarry a more attractive and richer woman, he made a pact with the devil, hired men to perform magic and then murdered his wife. Davies studies Doves belief in the supernatural and his involvement with Henry Harrison, a Leeds Wizard. He attempts to explain how the Victorian period was often portrayed as an age of great social and educational progress. Yet the largely hidden mental world highlighted how strong magic beliefs continued to influence the thoughts and actions of many people within the rural and urban communities. This is a well-researched and absorbing study on nineteenth century magic, murder and madness!