Project Gutenberg 2005-03-29 Public domain in the USA. 428 Ainsworth, William Harrison 1805 1882 Ainsworth, W. Harrison (William Harrison) Ainsworth, W. H. (William Harrison) Ainsworth, Harrison Ainworth, W. Harrison (William Harrison) Ticheburn, Cheviot Gilbert, John 1817 1897 Gilbert, Sir John The Lancashire Witches: A Romance of Pendle Forest Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lancashire_Witches Produced by Clare Boothby, Jon King and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. "The Lancashire Witches: A Romance of Pendle Forest" by William Harrison Ainsworth is a historical novel written in the mid-19th century. Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous events surrounding the Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536, the story explores themes of witchcraft, rebellion, and the struggle for religious and social justice in Lancashire. Key characters include the determined Abbot John Paslew, the enigmatic witch Nicholas Demdike, and the beautiful yet tragic Bess, whose intertwining fates reflect the era's conflicts and beliefs. The opening of the novel introduces us to the foreboding setting of Pendle Hill, where watchers are on guard awaiting a beacon signal to rally for rebellion against the suppression of the Catholic Church. Among them stands Abbot Paslew, who is concerned about the enemies he faces, including treachery within and powerful external foes. As the night progresses, he learns of the imminent failure of the rebellion and is faced with the dark influence of the wizard Demdike, who has ominous news about the fate of the uprising and the kingdom. The tension escalates with the ominous sense of supernatural elements at play, especially concerning the witch Bess and the dire consequences of her child remaining unbaptized. This sets the stage for a tale woven with elements of fate, conflict, and the struggle between good and evil amidst a historical framework. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 77.0 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Witches -- Fiction Lancashire (England) -- Fiction PR Text Historical Fiction Category: Historical Novels Category: Novels Category: British Literature 1450415 2025-07-06T14:06:20.226656 text/html 1516149 2020-12-14T08:56:07 text/html 1696450 2025-07-06T14:06:37.996075 application/epub+zip 1713186 2025-07-06T14:06:24.642137 application/epub+zip 637303 2025-07-06T14:06:22.904657 application/epub+zip 2239842 2025-07-06T14:06:48.430997 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 2175332 2025-07-06T14:06:36.424039 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1009252 2022-09-07T22:07:19.963818 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 1382542 2025-07-06T14:06:16.990654 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 1382308 2020-12-14T08:56:07 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 1382317 2020-12-14T08:56:07 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 23186 2025-07-06T14:06:48.595995 application/rdf+xml 22921 2025-07-06T14:06:23.445657 image/jpeg 4847 2025-07-06T14:06:23.174637 image/jpeg 534628 2020-12-14T08:56:07 application/octet-stream application/zip 1581184 2020-12-14T08:56:07 application/octet-stream application/zip 534567 2020-12-14T08:56:07 application/octet-stream application/zip 1664953 2025-07-06T14:06:20.390631 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia