MARY SCHWEIDLER, THE AMBER WITCH. THE MOST INTERESTING TRIAL FOR WITCHCRAFT EVER KNOWN .

Meinhold, [Johann] W[ilhelm]

Published by John Murray, London, 1844

About this Item

Octavo, pp. [i-iii] iv-xi [xii] [1] 2-171 [172: blank], nineteenth-century blue pebbled calf and marbled boards, spine panel titled and richly tooled in gold, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled. Second edition in English. The first edition in English of Meinhold's MARIA SCHWEIDLER DIE BERNSTEINHEXE (1843), translated by E. A. Friedlaender, was published in 1844 by H. G. Clarke & Co. Later the same year John Murray published a version of the work translated by Lady Duff Gordon, the latter superior to Friedlaender and the translation often reprinted. Story, set in the time of the Thirty Years War, of a young girl falsely accused of witchcraft -- while the real witch is unsuspected. "A minor masterpiece, still the best novel about witchcraft." - Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction 1142. Meinhold "retains a place in the history of supernatural fiction largely because he was a pioneer of the genre. His THE AMBER WITCH (1843) and SIDONIA THE SORCERESS (1847-1848) are generally considered two of the earliest and finest witch novels of the nineteenth century. He was also one of the first to adopt the form, language, and documentary style of the chronicle. He wrote with such finesse that some of his contemporaries were convinced that the chronicles were authentic." - Bleiler, ed., Supernatural Fiction Writers: Fantasy and Horror, p. 121. Praised and discussed at length by Lovecraft, Supernatural Horror in Literature, pp. 46-47. Barron, ed., Horror Literature 2-63. Lovecraft, Supernatural Horror in Literature, pp. 46-47. Bleiler (1978), p. 137. Not in Reginald (1979; 1992). Morgan 6157a. Not in Bloch (2002; 2010). Spine panel just a bit faded, a very good, attractive copy. (#179040).

Seller Inventory # 179040

Bibliographic Details

• Title: MARY SCHWEIDLER, THE AMBER WITCH. THE MOST INTERESTING TRIAL FOR WITCHCRAFT EVER KNOWN .
• Publisher: John Murray, London
• Publication Date: 1844
• Binding: Hardcover
• Seller catalogs:
  • Victorian Fiction