The Amber Witch

The Amber Witch is a Gothic novel and literary hoax written in 1839 by Johannes Wilhelm Meinhold (1797–1851) and originally published in German as Maria Schweidler: Die Bernsteinhexe. In 1844 it was published in Britain as The Amber Witch in two English translations, one by E. A. Friedlander and another and more enduring one by Lucie, Lady Duff-Gordon. Lady Duff Gordon's translation was very popular with the Victorians and went through numerous editions, including a luxurious one in 1895 illustrated by Philip Burne-Jones. Meinhold's story was a favourite of Oscar Wilde when he was a boy, and in 1861 it was also made into an opera, The Amber Witch, composed by William Vincent Wallace. Wallace's opera has faded into obscurity, but the novel on which it was based has continued to be re-published, both on its own and in anthologies, into the 21st century.

Read more about The Amber Witch:  Background, The Story

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