The Story Of Elizabeth Canning Considered

The Story Of Elizabeth Canning Considered is a 1753 pamphlet by Sir John Hill (1716-1775), the English writer who entered the public controversy over the Elizabeth Canning case, one of the most famous criminal causes célèbres of Georgian London. Elizabeth Canning was an eighteen-year-old maidservant who claimed to have been abducted and held in a hayloft in Enfield in early 1753. The case divided London opinion between supporters who believed Canning and opponents who held that she had perjured herself. Henry Fielding wrote in her defence. Hill, here taking the sceptical side, examines the inconsistencies in Canning’s account and argues that her story cannot stand against the testimony of those she accused. The pamphlet is a primary source for the case and for the lively pamphlet culture of mid-Georgian London. Free PDF download available on BDeBooks.