David Brandon (1)

From the time it was a Roman settlement, there have been people who decided the punishment, people who carried out the decision, crowds who gathered to watch and the people who experienced the punishment. This book covers anything that was officially done to punish political enemies, heretics, murderers, pickpockets, pirates, clippers, witches, debtors, seducers and one man who rode a donkey into Bristol, which was felt to be an imitation of Christ. So, of course he was taken to London, put show more into the pillory, then whipped through the streets to another pillory, where a hole was made in his tongue with a red-hot iron and the letter B was branded on his cheek for "Blasphemer". He was then taken back to Bristol and made to ride on the donkey facing backwards. Then back to London and put in prison. And didn't he have it coming to him?

There's is so much information like this, about individuals and their crimes, about types of punishment used in London, the various prisons throughout the city, the prison hulks, and even a brief chapter on ye olde S&M brothels. I know it all sounds gruesome, but if you can handle history, you'll probably be fine with this. The book actually has some odd photos included among the contemporary etchings of hangings, like why is there a photo of a pub the prison warders drank in? And another photo of a pub that was built across the street from where a prison used to stand? I'm just going with it because I like history books that focus on the individual stories while still giving the big picture. I was unaware that England had sent thousands of criminals to America as punishment up until the Revolutionary War. show less

An excellent little monograph, the author does well to give a flavour and the smell of coffee houses in London in the 17th and 18th centuries. He makes one want to be there, albeit not for long!

This was a very interesting account of executions throughout London history, divided by place (Newgate, Smithfield, etc). There were a lot of colorful stories I hadn't heard of before, many of which looked like great possible entries for Executed Today, a death penalty/history blog I regularly guest-write for. I can't imagine how many hours of research the author must have put in. My only complaint is that the last two sections (on the lives of London executioners, and the behavior of the show more crowds at public executions) were very repetitive and kept detailing crimes that had already been discussed earlier on in the book. All in all though, this is a solid addition to the death penalty, true crime and history shelves. show less

Writing biographies of criminals is hard enough. But it becomes harder when they lived before the era of central police records.

Thus writing a history of highwaymen is almost impossible. Many highway crimes went unreported; who was there to tell? Even if the crime was known, the criminal was anonymous, and might well disappear. If the criminal is caught, he still may not tell the truth.

So we can't expect much from a history of highwaymen. The truth is not to be had. But at least the author show more could say that. One can write a history of the legend of highwaymen. But this book doesn't admit to that. There are no footnotes, there is little sourcing, the analysis is inadequate. Want some fun? Fine; this is a fun book. But want to know the truth about highwaymen? Admittedly, you won't find all of it anywhere. But you perhaps will find even less than usual here. show less