Here lies Fanny Lynes, whose whispers from beyond the grave set London alight with scandal. Here swings Mary Bateman, who lived a life of lies - and died a prophetess and murderer. Here stands Mary Willcocks. Or is it Anne Burgess? Or Princess Caraboo, from the distant island of Javasu? A ghost. A witch. A princess. This is a story of those who lie. And of those who choose to believe them. The discoveries of the Enlightenment unsettled as much as they excited. New truths challenged longstanding beliefs. Rationalism jarred with superstition. Which voices would be heard in this ferocious battle for certainty? From the chaos, three women and their hoaxes rose as symbols of terror and fascination. But were the lies surrounding Fanny Lynes, Mary Bateman and Mary Willcocks entirely of their own making? Why were the public transfixed? Questioning culpability and complicity, Pelling's engrossing history of this great age of the hoax reveals a veiled world of moral panic, tall tales and true crime, and holds a mirror to our own turbulent relationship with truth.

This is history as it should be written, where academic excellence meets gripping storytelling. Superb -- Alice Loxton, author of ELEANOR
Playful but powerful, Pelling is a magnetic writer who leads us by the hand through a fascinating and slippery world -- Lucy Worsley
Written with narrative flair and rigorous scholarship, Pelling is a truly skilled guide to the Enlightenment -- Helen Carr, author of SCEPTRED ISLE
Pelling finds exciting new ways to tell important stories -- Dan Snow, creator of HISTORY HIT
An intimate investigation of past mentalities that not only shines a light on how previous generations made and unmade truth in the public sphere but also holds a mirror to our own times -- Malcolm Gaskill, author of THE RUIN OF ALL WITCHES
With her signature blend of wit, scholarship, and narrative verve, Pelling guides us through the darker corners of Georgian England and beyond. Hoax is told with the confidence of a historian who knows exactly how to uncover a lie, even those that have been buried for 300 years... -- Anthony Delaney, author of QUEER GEORGIANS
PRAISE FOR WRITING ON THE WALL * - *
This is the real eighteenth century -- Dan Snow
A wonderful, vibrant account -- Susie Dent
Fascinating... A history of the eighteenth century through lost voices of the people who lived through it * The Times *
A secret history like no other... a fascinating dip into our ancestors' lives * BBC History Magazine *

Madeleine Pelling is co-host of History Hit's popular After Dark podcast and author of Writing On the Wall. She is an award-winning cultural historian, author and broadcaster. A regular contributor for television and radio, she also writes for the Guardian, Independent, BBC History Magazine and History Today, amongst others.