{"product_id":"9783032301734","title":"Suicide and the Supernatural in Early Modern Britain and America","description":"\u003ch3\u003ePalgrave Historical Studies in Witchcraft and Magic\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ch1\u003eSuicide and the Supernatural in Early Modern Britain and America\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch3\u003eImogen Knox\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eHistory \/ Europe \/ General\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis open access book approaches self-destructive thoughts and behaviours as inextricable from supernatural belief. It sheds light on the multifaceted ways early modern people negotiated and responded to a range of suicidal thoughts and behaviours which they identified as originating from the devil. Much of the scholarship on suicide has been limited to death by suicide and the legal consequences of this crime. In contrast, this book utilises encounters with the supernatural to access stories of the temptation to harm or kill oneself, as recorded in Britain and New England from the late sixteenth to the early eighteenth century, to centre the experiences of suicidal people and those around them. In unpicking suicide from its criminal context and situating it within a supernatural one, it argues that suicidal thoughts and acts were not nearly so stigmatised in the early modern period as has been assumed. Indeed, the entrenchment of suicidal behaviour within the 'script' of supernatural affliction facilitated its expression.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eImogen Knox\u003c\/strong\u003e is Lecturer in Early Modern History at the University of Exeter, UK.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e17 August 2026\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eUniversity of Exeter\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePalgrave Macmillan\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9783032301734\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eHardback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e320\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"University of Exeter","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50150146113676,"sku":"9783032301734","price":53.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/9783032301734.jpg?v=1781059566","url":"https:\/\/lateknightbooks.com\/products\/9783032301734","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}