Sidonia the Sorceress is a Gothic historical novel based on true events, namely the fate of the Pomeranian noblewoman Sidonia von Borcke (1548-1620), who was tried and executed for witchcraft in the city of Stettin. Portrayed as a femme fatale, she became the subject of several fictional works in German and English, especially during the 19th century. The depiction of evil featured in Meinhold's novel developed a considerable influence on the subjects of the artist and literary circles in the Anglo-Saxon countries. "When we returned to the castle, Sidonia met the bridemaidens again with joyous smiles. She now wore a white silk robe, laced with gold, and dancing-slippers with white silk hose. The diamonds still remained on her head, neck, and arms. She looked beautiful thus; and I could not withdraw my eyes from her. We all now entered the bridechamber, as the custom is, and there stood an immense bridal couch, with coverlet and draperies as white as snow; and all the bridemaids and the guests threw their wreaths upon it. Then the Prince, taking the bridegroom by the hand, led him up to it, and repeated an old German rhyme concerning the duties of the holy state upon which he had entered."

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The Novel in Anglo-German Context focuses on cross-currents and affinities between fiction written in English and fiction written in German, and the thirty-one contributors to this volume cover authors from the eighteenth century to the present day. The essays collected in this book approach the theme of Anglo-German cultural cross-fertilisation from a number of different angles. These include the reception and translation of foreign authors, the examination of exile writers, the comparative exploration of aspects which are crucial to both German, Austrian or Swiss and British or Irish novelists at a given point in time, the fictional depiction of the respective other culture, Anglo-German images in the novel, as well as the role of the novel in the curricula of German and British secondary education. The topics chosen by the contributors offer stimulating views on a wide range of subject areas, and the volume is essential reading for anyone with a broad interest in Anglo-Irish, German, Austrian and Swiss literature, the development of fiction as well as Anglo-German literary and cultural relations.