Drawing on the difficult-to-access pamphlets, reports, periodical literature and political tracts, this five-volume set reproduces in facsimile a large number of neglected sources relating to rural life in the latter half of the nineteenth century. It is of interest to scholars in nineteenth-century studies and to all social historians.

In tenth- and eleventh-century England, Anglo-Saxon Christians retained an old folk belief in elves as extremely dangerous creatures capable of harming unwary humans. To ward off the afflictions caused by these invisible beings, Christian priests modified traditional elf charms by adding liturgical chants to herbal remedies. In Popular Religion in Late Saxon England, Karen Jolly traces this cultural intermingling of Christian liturgy and indigenous Germanic customs and argues that elf charms and similar practices represent the successful Christianization of native folklore. Jolly describes a dual process of conversion in which Anglo-Saxon culture became Christianized but at the same time left its own distinct imprint on Christianity. Illuminating the creative aspects of this dynamic relationship, she identifies liturgical folk medicine as a middle ground between popular and elite, pagan and Christian, magic and miracle. Her analysis, drawing on the model of popular religion to redefine folklore and magic, reveals the richness and diversity of late Saxon Christianity.

Inside this wonderful book is a collection of news items, stories, commentaries and depositions that were published under English datelines from 1720-1730 in Colonial American newspapers. All articles were originally published in English newspapers brought to the colonies by travelers. The articles are presented here verbatim. So, have a seat in your favorite easy chair, imagine you're in a tavern in London, (the Rose and Crown, the Halfmoon and Rummer, or maybe, the Queen's Head Alehouse) and let yourself get lost in the stories of Jolly Old England.