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Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment
Here lies Fanny Lynes, whose whispers from beyondthe grave set London alight with scandal. Here swings Mary...
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Here lies Fanny Lynes, whose whispers from beyond
the grave set London alight with scandal. Here swings Mary Bateman, who lived a life of lies - and died a
prophetess and murderer. Here stands Mary Willcocks. Or is it Anne Burgess? Or Princess Caraboo,
from the distant island of Javasu? A ghost. A witch. A princess. This is a story of those who lie. And
of those who choose to believe them. The discoveries of the Enlightenment unsettled as much as they excited. New
truths challenged longstanding beliefs. Rationalism jarred with superstition.
Which voices would be heard in this ferocious battle for certainty?
From the chaos, three women and their hoaxes rose as symbols of terror and
fascination. But were the lies surrounding Fanny Lynes, Mary Bateman and Mary
Willcocks entirely of their own making? Why were the public transfixed?
Questioning culpability and complicity, Pelling's engrossing history of this
great age of the hoax reveals a veiled world of moral panic, tall tales and
true crime, and holds a mirror to our own turbulent relationship with truth.
Author: Madeline Pelling
Publisher: Ips - Profile Books
Published: 09/01/2026
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.20w x 1.40d
ISBN: 9781805222354
About the Author
Madeleine Pelling is
co-host of History Hit's popular After Dark podcast and author
of Writing On the Wall. She is an award-winning cultural historian,
author and broadcaster. A regular contributor for television and radio, she
also writes for the Guardian, Independent, BBC
History Magazine and History Today, amongst
others.
the grave set London alight with scandal. Here swings Mary Bateman, who lived a life of lies - and died a
prophetess and murderer. Here stands Mary Willcocks. Or is it Anne Burgess? Or Princess Caraboo,
from the distant island of Javasu? A ghost. A witch. A princess. This is a story of those who lie. And
of those who choose to believe them. The discoveries of the Enlightenment unsettled as much as they excited. New
truths challenged longstanding beliefs. Rationalism jarred with superstition.
Which voices would be heard in this ferocious battle for certainty?
From the chaos, three women and their hoaxes rose as symbols of terror and
fascination. But were the lies surrounding Fanny Lynes, Mary Bateman and Mary
Willcocks entirely of their own making? Why were the public transfixed?
Questioning culpability and complicity, Pelling's engrossing history of this
great age of the hoax reveals a veiled world of moral panic, tall tales and
true crime, and holds a mirror to our own turbulent relationship with truth.
Author: Madeline Pelling
Publisher: Ips - Profile Books
Published: 09/01/2026
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.20w x 1.40d
ISBN: 9781805222354
About the Author
Madeleine Pelling is
co-host of History Hit's popular After Dark podcast and author
of Writing On the Wall. She is an award-winning cultural historian,
author and broadcaster. A regular contributor for television and radio, she
also writes for the Guardian, Independent, BBC
History Magazine and History Today, amongst
others.
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