He wrote the story in 1848, when it was serialised in the Sunday Times newspaper. During 18 Ainsworth visited all of the major sites involved in the story, such as Pendle Hill and Malkin Tower, home of the Demdikes, one of the two families accused of witchcraft. The subject of the Pendle witches was suggested to Ainsworth by antiquarian and long-time friend James Crossley, President of the Chetham Society. Bleiler rated the novel as "one of the major English novels about witchcraft". Modern critics such as David Punter consider the book to be Ainsworth's best work. The novel is based on the true story of the Pendle witches, who were executed in 1612 for causing harm by witchcraft. It was serialised in the Sunday Times newspaper in 1848 a book edition appeared the following year, published by Henry Colburn. The Lancashire Witches is the only one of William Harrison Ainsworth's forty novels that has remained continuously in print since its first publication.
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