STORY, William W. “Castle St. Angelo and the Evil Eye” [Chapman and Hall, 1877]

STORY, William W. Castle St. Angelo and the Evil Eye.

London: Chapman and Hall, 1877. 8" x 5.5", vii + 238pp with 9 illustrations. Publisher’s brown cloth ruled in black with gilt titling and ornament to spine. Both hinges cracked but holding; owner’s name to front flyleaf; moderate rubbing and wear to extremities with some fraying at spine ends; text block generally clean and sound. Good-.

A surprisingly engaging Victorian exploration of Italian superstition, folk magic, and the belief in the “Evil Eye” (“jettatura”), issued as additional chapters to Story’s celebrated Roba di Roma. The second half of the work moves far beyond travel writing into discussions of fascination, curses, talismans, necromancy, charms, spells, amulets, classical magical traditions, and protective rites against malign influence. Story traces the persistence of Evil Eye beliefs from antiquity through nineteenth-century Italy, drawing upon Roman authors, Biblical sources, folk practices, and contemporary Italian customs.