Join Madeleine Pelling, at this event in July, to unpick the stories of three incredible eighteenth-century hoaxes.
Come to The Priory Church of the Order of St John for a lively discussion as Madeline Pelling discusses her new book. This will be an in-person evening talk in partnership with the St John Historical Society, marking the publication of an investigation into an intriguing and scandalous chapter in the history of the famous Priory Church crypt.
This fascinating talk and book signing will take place on Wednesday 1st July from 7pm to 8pm.
This is a story of those who lie. And of those who choose to believe them.
The discoveries emerging from the laboratories and libraries of eighteenth-century Britain unsettled as much as they excited. New truths, trumpeted by Enlightenment pioneers, challenged deeply rooted 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, and how, did the public become transfixed?
Questioning culpability and complicity, Madeleine 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 the truth.
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 twelfth century crypt, site of Fanny Lynes’ deception, will be open for attendees to visit before and after the talk.
A book signing will take place following the talk, with copies of Hoax: Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment available for purchase.
Tickets are free, but donations are welcome! Book here.
The Priory Church of the Order of St John, St John’s Square, London, EC1V 4JJ
