Anne Greene

In her early adulthood, she worked as a scullery maid in the house of Sir Thomas Reade, a justice of the peace who lived in nearby Duns Tew.

[9][10] The group of physicians tried many remedies to revive Greene, including pouring hot cordial down her throat, rubbing her limbs and extremities, bloodletting, applying a poultice to her breasts, and administering a tobacco smoke enema.

Greene began to recover quickly, beginning to speak after twelve[12] to fourteen hours[13] of treatment and eating solid food after four days.

[12] The authorities granted Greene a reprieve from execution while she recovered and ultimately pardoned her, believing that the hand of God had saved her, demonstrating her innocence.

In 1651, Richard Watkins also published a pamphlet containing a sober, medically accurate prose account of the event and poems inspired by it, entitled Newes from the Dead (Oxford: Leonard Lichfield, 1651).

The poems, of which there were 25 in various languages, included a set of English verses by Christopher Wren, who was at that time a gentleman-commoner (a student who paid all fees in advance) of Wadham College.