9780259442011 - Curious Cases and Amusing Actions at Law: Including Some Trials of Witches in the Seventeenth Century (Classic Reprint) von Mather, Cotton (3 Ergebnisse)

PAP. Zustand: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

PAP. Zustand: New. New Book. Shipped from UK. Established seller since 2000.

Paperback. Zustand: New. Print on Demand. This book provides a fascinating glimpse into the lives and legal battles faced by ordinary people in 18th-century Birmingham, England. Mining a goldmine of previously unexamined material housed in Birmingham Central Library, the author presents 44 transcribed cases heard at the Birmingham Court of Requests, offering a rare glimpse into the daily struggles, relationships, and customs of the time. In a period and context when documents of this nature predominantly concern the wealthy, these cases centre the voices and experiences of ordinary people. They reveal the grim realities of poverty, debt, and exploitation endured by the working classes while exposing the hypocrisy and exploitation carried out by their social superiors. The cases are far from uniform and often explore the lives of women, shedding light on their agency and legal status at a time when their voices have been largely lost to history. By presenting these cases in their entirety, the author allows the reader to draw their own conclusions about the biases and limitations of the court, and the lives of those who passed through its doors. Ultimately, this book is a testament to the power of legal records to unveil the lives and experiences of everyday people, offering a fresh perspective on the social and cultural history of this period. This book is a reproduction of an important historical work, digitally reconstructed using state-of-the-art technology to preserve the original format. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in the book. print-on-demand item.