Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment, (Hardcover)

<b>Here lies Fanny Lynes</b>, whose whispers from beyond<br>the grave set London alight with scandal. <p><b>Here swings Mary Bateman</b>, who lived a life of lies - and died a<br>prophetess and murderer. </p><p><b>Here stands Mary Willcocks</b>. Or is it Anne Burgess? Or Princess Caraboo, <br>from the distant island of Javasu? </p><p><b> </b></p><p><b>A ghost. A witch. A princess. This is a story of those who lie. And<br>of those who choose to believe them.</b> </p><p>The discoveries of the Enlightenment unsettled as much as they excited. New<br>truths challenged longstanding beliefs. Rationalism jarred with superstition.<br>Which voices would be heard in this ferocious battle for certainty? </p><p><br>From the chaos, three women and their hoaxes rose as symbols of terror and<br>fascination. But were the lies surrounding Fanny Lynes, Mary Bateman and Mary<br>Willcocks entirely of their own making? Why were the public transfixed? </p><p><br>Questioning culpability and complicity, Pelling's engrossing history of this<br>great age of the hoax reveals a veiled world of moral panic, tall tales and<br>true crime, and holds a mirror to our own turbulent relationship with truth.</p>

• Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment, (Hardcover)
• Author: Madeline Pelling
• ISBN: 9781805222354
• Format: Hardcover
• Publication Date: 2026-09-01
• Page Count: 320