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The White Witch of Rosehall NEW EDITION

Herbert G. de Lisser

“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

 

“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

 

A very striking and curious story, founded on fact, of the West Indies of the early 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 suspicious circumstances. She takes a violent fancy to Rutherford, who is also embarrassed by the attentions of his housekeeper, Millicent. His housekeeper is urging him, with some success, 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 the author
Herbert G. de Lisser was for some forty years 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.