(CANNING, Elizabeth) FIELDING, Henry. A Clear State of the Case of Elizabeth Canning, who hath sworn that she was robbed and almost starved to death by a gang of gipsies and other villains in January last, for which one Mary Squires now lies under sentence of death. Printed for A. Millar in the Strand. 1753
[2], 62pp. 8vo. Final leaf dusted & torn without loss of text, with early partial repair. Original stab holes, some sl. marginal tears, several leaves loose. Contemporary ink number '44' at head of titlepage. Disbound.
¶ESTC T89826. FIRST EDITION, one of two issues, this with p.4, line 3 beginning "to require". In 1753, Elizabeth Canning, a servant, disappeared from her mother's home, reappearing one month later, starved, weak, and telling a tale that was to become the subject of over forty pamphlets in 1753-54. She claimed that she was robbed on her way home from visiting some relatives, taken forcibly to a house in Enfield Wash, stripped of her petticoat, gown, stays, and cap, and held captive in an unheated garret room, with only a small amount of bread and water, for one month. She managed to escape through a window and walked the considerable distance back to her mother's house. Henry Fielding, who was Justice of the Peace for Middlesex, issued a warrant for the detention of Wells and Squires, her supposed abductors, and the case went to trial at the Old Bailey in February 1753. Although they were initially found guilty, the Chief Magistrate of London was dissatisfied with the verdict, and the case was re-opened, concluding with Canning's conviction for perjury, one month of imprisonment and seven years of transportation, in July 1754. Whilst awaiting her trial, the press was divided into two camps, identified as the Canningites and Egyptians (for Gypsy Mary Squires). Henry Fielding wrote A Clear Statement of the Case of Elizabeth Canning, and a number of his enemies wrote replies, most notably John Hill.