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"shaun cooper"
Titles found: 4

A BOOK OF SUSSEX WITCH LEGENDS
Shaun Cooper

Some villages have witch legends – but most do not. In East Sussex, there are at least 13 places which have them, and in West Sussex nearly 50. Some of these are fairly typical of the kinds of witch legends found all over Britain, such as that of Old Mother Venus of Laughton, who was said to become a hare, or Jenny Saker of Goring who changed into a big black dog, and Dame Prettylegs of Albourne who was reputed to immobilize wagons and teams, or Witch Killick of Crowborough who ill-wished a neighbour to fall sick; and then there are some which are not so common, such as one about Mrs. Kitchener of Loxwood who sat on a hurdle and rode it like a horse; and of the landlord of The Fox Inn, at Fox Hill, who was shot in the legs when he was a hare, and Nanny Smart of Hurstpierpoint who, old though she was, could not die until she had passed her witchcraft secrets to someone else; or Butter Ede of Petworth who always had a big black cat with her, and Old Martha of Plumpton who ran backwards brandishing long knives; or Dame Garson of Duddleswell, who was chased by hounds when she was a hare, and leapt in through the window of her cottage, calling: “Ah, my boys, you ain’t got me yet!”
But the fear of witchcraft seems to have lingered long in some of the remote parts of Sussex, even to within living memory – according to the sentiments of various Sussex writers – and so there are tales here which are even more eldritch, such as one about a witch-hare at Slinfold that was shot with a silver bullet, and another at Stedham who was torn to pieces by fox-hounds; or of the notorious Wigperry witch, who came back as a ghost and haunted Bedlam pond, sitting on the surface of the water, holding a spindle.
This book takes a close look at the witch legends of Sussex, and also describes many from the shires and other places, as well as the various old counter-spells that were used, and it discusses Sussex legends of fairies and dragons too.

The book has been developed from the earlier British Witch Legends of Sussex to become a very much revised, vastly expanded, and far more comprehensive volume, with a better folkloristic perspective on the subject, and it also has tales and witch lore from many more villages, including over twenty in Sussex.

Paperback 210 X 148mm 276 pages
A MUST for folklore enthusiasts
Country Books
ISBN 978-1-910489-79-6

Price £13.00

Book 175 Image

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The Crew that Never Rests
Shaun Cooper

Most books about the fairy lore of Britain tend to focus on the Celtic parts of the country, but The Crew that Never Rests is mainly about the local legends and tales of the fairies as recorded in the counties of England. It features over thirty sections covering such subjects as fairy rings, captured fairies, church siting legends, fairy funerals, changelings, mines and caves, fairy children, hobs and robgoblins, equine fairies, Midsummer’s Eve, fairy treasure, ‘The Sweating Fairies’ and ‘The Broken Peel’ etc. and the book includes over 200 complete legends and tales about the Little People – of Cornish piskys, West Country pixies, Suffolk frairies, pharisees in Sussex and Hertfordshire, the faries and brownies of northern counties, and other English fairy folk, as well as the Tylwyth Teg of Wales, and ‘the people of peace’ of Scotland, the Gentry of the Irish, and of the lutins in France, Germanic elves, and the trolls, tomtes, and elle-folk of Scandinavia. The book contains vintage illustrations, including colour plates. And there is also a little extra item tucked away at the back: “We’ll drink and dance like pharisees!” A Garland of Sussex Fairy Lore.

Paperback 148mm x 210mm 218 pages
12 Colour pictures, plus black & white illustrations
Country Books
ISBN 978-1-7395824-4-9

Price £15.00

Book 185 Image

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THE GODDESS: A DEMON
Richard Marsh

A Victorian gothic horror novel first published in 1900.

An introduction by Shaun Cooper contains a lot of new information on Marsh.

John Ferguson has a dream in which his friend Edwin Lawrence is attacked in the night by a laughing female fiend. He wakes up to find a beautiful, mysterious woman stepping into his room through the window. She is covered in blood and cannot remember her name. The following morning, Lawrence is found dead, his body and face slashed beyond recognition…

The author lived in Sussex from 1891 until his death in 1915.

Paperback 198 x 129mm 256 pages
A must for readers who like thrillers!
Country Books
ISBN 978-1-910789-41-3

Price £9.99

Book 155 Image

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THE SHINING CORD OF SHEILA KAYE-SMITH
Shaun Cooper

Sheila Kaye-Smith was a Sussex writer. She wrote more than 30 novels, most of them set in that county, and some in Kent, and she also wrote short stories, poetry, articles, and non-fiction books. One of her most popular novels was made into a film. This new biography about her contains a lot of original research, as well as excerpts from book reviews, articles, interviews, and other sources. Highlights will undoubtedly be the quotes from and plot descriptions of two unfinished novels; details about some of her lesser known stories, as well as the sections about Baa, Trimmer and Pearl, Platnix, The Lodge, Old Gadgett, City Red, The Fairy Housemaid, The Little Flower, the gleams, and, of course, the Shining Cord.
Extras:
Picture Gallery (in full colour), Production Notes, and Easter Eggs.

Paperback 210 x 148mm 214 pages
Biography of Sheila Kaye-Smith 1887-1956
Country Books
ISBN 978-1-910489-47-5

Price £12.50

Book 156 Image

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