ABSTRACT
This chapter reflects the sense that was made of the event locally in the context of the apocalyptic piety of the desert. In their representation of the desert experience during the Camisard war, the witnesses of the Theatre sacre described a spiritual reality which gave rise to the conviction that they were acting out a history which had been willed by God. The chapter traces the meanings ascribed to it in London after stories of the trial by fire had evoked interest and lively polemic about miracles amongst the French refugee community. It outlines the story of the trial by fire. News of the trial by fire at Serignan spread beyond the Cevennes as eyewitnesses who had left France recounted the story abroad. The chapter examines a selection of ephemeral print literature circulated in the city that reflects contemporary reactions to desert prophecy.
