A dispute between the woman and the powers of darkness, 1802
By: Joanna Southcott.
Series: Revolution and romanticism, 1789-1834
Publisher: Woodstock Books
Published: 1995
Place of publication: Poole [England]; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 128
Subjects: Prophecies (Occultism)
Other titles: Woman and the powers of darkness
Description: In 1792, when she was 42, Joanna Southcott began writing down her prophecies, sealing them against the day they were to occur. In 1801 her publications began to appear, written in a combination of prose - sometimes plain, sometimes incantatory - and primitive verse. This pamphlet of 1802 is a sample of the flood of writings which she poured forth until her death in 1814.

Joanna is visited by Satan, or Apollyon, or a Friend of Satan, and disputes with him; she triumphs; she recounts her dreams of a flying horseman, a balloon, fires in the sky. A farmer's daughter and one-time servant, she is a descendant of Bunyan in the period of Blake. Unlike Blake she reaches a wide audience, speaking most directly to the poor and to women. Visionary, deluded, or mad, she was the object of veneration and focus of a large and devoted cult.
Notes: Originally published: London : Printed by E. Spragg, 1802.