White Witch Of Rosehall - Softcover

Landale, Rita

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0333349695 ISBN 13: 9780333349694

Publisher: Macmillan Caribbean, 1982

Synopsis

A very striking and curious story, founded on fact, of the West Indies of the earlty nineteenth century. Robert Rutherford is sent to the islands to learn the planter's business from the bottom. He becomes an overseer at Rosehall, the property of a young widow, Mrs Palmer, whose three husbands have all died in curious circumstances. She takes a violent fancy to Rutherford, who is also embarrassed by the attentions of his half-caste housekeeper, Millicent.

His housekeeper is urging him, with some sucess, to fall in with West Indian habits, when Mrs Palmer arrives. Millicent defies her and threatens her with the powers of Takoo, an Obeah man. Mrs Palmer, herself skilled in Obeah magic, puts a spell on the girl, which Takoo's rites, shattered by the white woman's stronger magic, are powerless to remove.

About this title

Review

"de Lisser utilizes the conventions of a romantic entanglement to investigate and debate the wider socio-political issues within the novel that relate to colonialism, Jamaican identity and culture ... The White Witch of Rosehall is a delightful read, written by an author who sought not only to entertain, but also to educate." --Donna-Marie Tuck, Society for Caribbean Studies Newsletter

"Nearly 80 years after it was first published in 1928, Herbert de Lisser's classic tale of murder, mayhem, witchcraft and the slave rebellion of 1831 in Jamaica, The White Witch of Rosehall, still holds an awe-inspiring fascination for readers who enjoy horror stories based (so it's said) on a true story." --Anne Hilton, Newsday

"The story is gripping and absorbing, tragic and bitter and shows another dimension to life on the plantations in Jamaica in 1831." --Barbara Nelson, The Sunday Gleaner

About the Author

For some forty years Herbert G. de Lisser was editor of The Gleaner, the leading daily paper of the West Indies, and of the annual Planter's Punch. His influence on Jamaican thought and life were immeasurable. He was awarded the C.M.G. for his literary work; of his books, The White Witch of Rosehall is probably the best known.

Edition details

• Publisher: Macmillan Caribbean
• Publication date: 1982
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0333349695
• ISBN 13: 9780333349694
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256