Reviews
Essential for the cryptid-keeper's library. This secret history is a welcome and necessary text on the historicity of the Leeds/Jersey Devil.
Fascinating. An enchanting exploration whence monsters might come.
The Secret History of the Jersey Devil can provide folklorists with historical context for understanding a legend and the behavior surrounding it.
In this fine study of accounts about a monstrous creature inhabiting the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, Regal and Esposito show how the shape of the creature shifted to reflect changing times. Their detailed analysis shows how speculation about the New Jersey Devil played around the changing frontiers of scientific knowledge. It also demonstrates the relish for fantastic stories, the gullibility of believers, and the flair for hyperbole, satire, and exploitation of believers that seem to be irrepressible features of American life. Regal and Esposito even liken the conspiracy theories and manipulation of facts in our own time to the same proclivities that keep bringing the New Jersey Devil back to life.
A thorough dissection of the American monster, [The Secret History of the Jersey Devil] is a fascinating look at almost every aspect of the Devil... Here [Regal and Esposito] not only untangle the various major threads that were braided into the Devil's biography, but also uncover the many murkier, more nebulous components that go into the gradual generation of a monster legend.
This is a detailed and exceptionally well-referenced account of the birth, growth, survival and triumph of a legendary monster.
Tracing the myth of the Jersey Devil from its origins, Regal and Esposito’s telling of this legendary monster’s story is as lively as it is well researched. Impressive and substantial; I have never read anything quite like it.
Regal and Esposito show that the truth behind the Jersey Devil is far stranger—and more interesting—than fiction. Through meticulous research, this book uncovers the murky, myriad roots of this famous monster not in the pits of hell, but in centuries-old grudges, religious feuds, yellow journalism, hoaxes, and folklore. The Secret History of the Jersey Devil is an engaging and well-researched look at one of America's best-known legends.
Book Details
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. "Let this one be a Devil!"
2. The Devil and Daniel Leeds
3. The Devil and the Founding Father
4. The Birth of the Jersey Devil
5. The Devil's Biographers
6. The Devil Becomes
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. "Let this one be a Devil!"
2. The Devil and Daniel Leeds
3. The Devil and the Founding Father
4. The Birth of the Jersey Devil
5. The Devil's Biographers
6. The Devil Becomes a Star
Epilogue
Notes
Index