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The Strange Case of Hellish Nell: The True Story of Helen Duncan and the Witch Trial of World War II - Hardcover
On March 23, 1944, as the Allied Forces were preparing for D-Day, Helen Duncan--"Nell" to her six children and four grandchildren and "Hellish Nell" to her detractors--stood in the dock of Britain's highest criminal court accused of:witchcraft! At the time of her arrest, Helen Duncan was Britain's most controversial psychic, a celebrity medium with a notorious reputation. During her seances, she channeled spirits who spoke from the world beyond, and on a few occasions, her "spirit" seemed to know too much: Helen's seances were accurately revealing top-secret British ship movements. Intelligence authorities wanted "Hellish Nell" silenced. Using diaries, personal papers, interviews, and declassified documents, Nina Shandler resurrects this strange episode and explores the unanswered questions surrounding the trial: Did "Hellish Nell" channel spirits of the dead who gave away wartime secrets? Was she a calculating charlatan or the innocent target of obsessive wartime secrecy? Why did the Director of Public Prosecutions try her as a witch, and not a spy? Sometimes comic, sometimes tragic, The Strange Case of Hellish Nell is a true crime tale laced with psychic phenomena and wartime intrigue.
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About the Author:
Nina Shandler, Ed.D., a licensed psychologist and family therapist, is the author of Estrogen: The Natural Way and Ophelia's Mom. She lives in Massachusetts.
From Publishers Weekly:
In April 1944 as Allied forces were prepping for D-Day, the British press made headlines about a Scottish mother of six who was being tried under the Witchcraft Act of 1735. Obese and lower-class, Helen Duncan apparently had a gift of second sight that was exploited by her idle husband, who taught her to be a proper medium and sent her act on the road. In addition to communing with the dead, the famed spiritualist had a knack for divulging ship movements and losses, and Portsmouth Chief Constable Arthur West, ordered to protect Britain's premier naval port during wartime, was duly alarmed. But how do you silence a medium without giving away the fact that she had accurately forecast military secrets? West nabbed her as a fake who defrauded innocent victims. Despite an excellent defense, Duncan got nine months and served six; after the war she happily embraced her powers even though she had sworn to retire. Unfortunately, family therapist Shandler (Ophelia's Mom) displays a penchant for overheated, amateurish prose (the red ink from Churchill's note to the home secretary "dripped with disdain") and conjures a tedious tale from an intriguing subject. Photos. (Oct.)
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Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- PublisherDa Capo Press
- Publication date2006
- ISBN 10 0306814382
- ISBN 13 9780306814389
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages304
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The Strange Case of Hellish Nell: The True Story of Helen Duncan and the Witch Trial of World War II
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ISBN 13: 9780306814389
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Book Description Cloth. Condition: New Condition. First USA Edition, First Printing. Shandler resurrects explores the unanswered questions surrounding the witchcraft trial of "Hellish Nell," Britian's most notorious psychic in the 1940s. Did she channel spirits of the dead who gave away wartime secrets, or was she a calculating charlatan, or perhaps the innocent target of obsessive wartime secrecy? Originally published: 2006. xiv, 289pp, photo illustrated. An 'as new' copy - bright, fresh, unmarked. Similar, unclipped dustjacket. Weight, 506g, unpacked. We ship Worldwide, use both Canada Post and the United States Postal Service, and offer postal charges based on our actual costs, without overcharging. Canadian domestic postal rates rise with weight, size and distance; Rates to the USA calculated by weight alone as per the USPS. World rates based on specific destination and weight. Seller Inventory # 25936
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