{"product_id":"9781805222354","title":"Hoax : Truth and Lies in the Age of Enlightenment","description":"\u003ch3\u003eAuthor: Madeleine Pelling\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch4\u003eEngland\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003ch5\u003ePublished on 7 May 2026 by Profile Books Ltd in the United Kingdom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHardback | 368 pages, 2-3 b\/w integrated ills throughout per chapter\u003cbr\u003e163 x 242 x 36 | 582g\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/h5\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Scintillating ... a thrill ride through the filthy streets and dank rooms of Georgian England where the lies and deceptions that fooled a nation were born' Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Five  Here lies Fanny Lynes, whose whispers from beyond the grave set London alight with scandal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHere swings Mary Bateman, who lived a life of lies - and died a prophetess and murderer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHere 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Far From The Madding Crowd","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48469358543107,"sku":"9781805222354","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0404\/3207\/4914\/files\/9781805222354.jpg?v=1782304209","url":"https:\/\/www.maddingcrowdlinlithgow.com\/products\/9781805222354","provider":"Far From The Madding Crowd","version":"1.0","type":"link"}