Talk:Canningite

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Origin of name[edit]

Does the name refer to the then notorious case of Elizabeth Canning, the maidservant in the 1750s who claimed to have been abducted and abused? Her alleged tormentors were eventually released by the Lord Mayor of London, and Miss Canning tried for perjury (and eventually transported to the American colonies, in the days before transportation to Australia had kicked off), amidst mob violence in which her supporters were called the "Canningites". I confess I hadn't heard of it, until I discovered that the Josephine Tey novel The Franchise Affair is basically the same story, updated to a 1940s setting (the modern day when it was written).

And don't say "No they were named after George Canning". Well yeah, obviously. But the name might have been referring to a case which is now forgotten but which was then on the fringes of living memory.

Might be interesting if anyone has a book which sheds any light.Paulturtle (talk) 00:05, 14 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]