Lois the Witch
by Elizabeth Gaskell
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Set against the backdrop of the Salem witch hunts, Elizabeth Gaskell's somber novella reveals much about the complicity of mankind. Recently orphaned, Lois is forced to leave the English parsonage that had been her home and sail to America. A God-fearing and honest girl, she has little to concern her in this new life. Yet as she joins her distant family, she finds jealousy and dissension are rife, and her cousins quick to point the finger at the "imposter." With the whole of Salem gripped by show more a fear of the supernatural, it seems her new home is where she is in most danger. Lonely and afraid, the words of an old curse return to haunt her. Collaborator and friend of Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell is a leading figure in Victorian literature. show lessTags
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‘La bruja Lois’ (Lois the Witch, 1859) es un retrato perfecto del fanatismo religioso imperante en Nueva Inglaterra a finales del siglo XVII. El lector acompaña a la protagonista, Lois, recién llegada desde Inglaterra al nuevo continente. Al quedarse huérfana es acogida por su nueva familia en Salem, Nueva Inglaterra, donde las costumbres le son extrañas y donde su conducta es analizada escrupulosamente. El desprecio de sus familiares y la indefensión ante el fanatismo que está creciendo como una marea en Salem, arrastrarán a la joven Lois a una caza de brujas.
Histeria colectiva, fanatismo religioso, odio, celos y venganza tuvieron lugar en Salem, algo que la autora, Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865), recrea a la perfección en show more esta novela corta. show less
Histeria colectiva, fanatismo religioso, odio, celos y venganza tuvieron lugar en Salem, algo que la autora, Elizabeth Gaskell (1810-1865), recrea a la perfección en show more esta novela corta. show less
Well written short story that is among the best of Gaskell's work, in my humble opinion. Set amongst the American witch trials of the 1600s, the work fills you with frenzy as the momentum of accusations against Lois increase and leaving you powerless to stop them. The only sense of relief comes with the shared anger and pain with the fiancée.
A solid, chilling story recounting one young girl's experience of being swallowed up in the suspicion and hysteria of the Salem Witch trials. Written by a Unitarian, wife of a Unitarian minister, which probably doesn't mean a lot to most people but I find interesting :-)
How does one write a review of a work by a classic author? I liked this novella by Gaskell, a story about a young English girl coming to Salem to stay with family. Ultimately, she is accused of witchcraft as the title suggests. I won't include any spoilers here. It's interesting, but not a masterpiece, imo.
Nothing new here. Same Salem Witch Trial(s) story, even uses one of the same names.
Boh, insomma. Mica il massimo, carino corto forse poteva esserlo ancora di più...
Pointing fingers...witch hunt...Terrific book.
Reflections: echoes our century today.
Reflections: echoes our century today.
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229+ Works 30,448 Members
Elizabeth Gaskell was born on September 29, 1810 to a Unitarian clergyman, who was also a civil servant and journalist. Her mother died when she was young, and she was brought up by her aunt in Knutsford, a small village that was the prototype for Cranford, Hollingford and the setting for numerous other short stories. In 1832, she married William show more Gaskell, a Unitarian clergyman in Manchester. She participated in his ministry and collaborated with him to write the poem Sketches among the Poor in 1837. Our Society at Cranford was the first two chapters of Cranford and it appeared in Dickens' Household Words in 1851. Dickens liked it so much that he pressed Gaskell for more episodes, and she produced eight more of them between 1852 and 1853. She also wrote My Lady Ludlow and Lois the Witch, a novella that concerns the Salem witch trials. Wives and Daughters ran in Cornhill from August 1864 to January 1866. The final installment was never written but the ending was known and the novel exists now virtually complete. The story centers on a series of relationships between family groups in Hollingford. Most critics agree that her greatest achievement is the short novel Cousin Phillis. Gaskell was also followed by controversy. In 1853, she offended many readers with Ruth, which explored seduction and illegitimacy that led the "fallen woman" into ostracism and inevitable prostitution. The novel presents the social conduct in a small community when tolerance and morality clash. Critics praised the novel's moral lessons but Gaskell's own congregation burned the book and it was banned in many libraries. In 1857, The Life of Charlotte Brontë was published. The biography was initially praised but angry protests came from some of the people it dealt with. Gaskell was against any biographical notice of her being written during her lifetime. After her death on November 12, 1865, her family refused to make family letters or biographical data available. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Lois the Witch
- Original publication date
- 1859
- Important places
- Salem, Massachusetts, USA
- Important events
- Salem witch trials (1692)
- First words
- In the year 1691, Lois Barclay stood on a little wooden pier, steadying herself on the stable land, in much the same manner as, eight or nine weeks ago, she had tried to steady herself on the deck of the rocking ship which ha... (show all)d carried her across from Old to New England.
- Quotations
- And at the beginning of the long winter season, such whispered tales, such old temptations and hauntings, and devilish terrors, were supposed to be peculiarly rife. Salem was, as it were, snowed up, and left to prey upon itse... (show all)lf.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)"She would have willed it so."
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- Members
- 242
- Popularity
- 133,889
- Reviews
- 9
- Rating
- (3.82)
- Languages
- 6 — English, French, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 30
- ASINs
- 6
