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Executioner: The Chronicles of a Victorian Hangman
£11.60£17.10 (-32%)
James Berry, a dour and somewhat pious ex-policeman who hailed from Yorkshire, was Britain’s hangman from 1884 to 1892 and was responsible for carrying out 200 executions. As an amateur criminologist he built his own black museum and kept scrapbooks relating to his activities. He was also something of a showman, and not averse to publicity, whose press coverage caused the government acute embarrassment. Capable of cold, even callous detachment, Berry’s sensitivity meant that he was often too upset before and after one of his 200 executions to be able to speak.There were also a few horrific incidents on the gallows and his job evidently had its effect on him as, in retirement, Berry became so depressed that he took steps to commit suicide. In this biography, Stewart Evans here takes the reader on a fascinating journey into the world of Victorian crime and punishment. Evans is a leading crime historian, widely considered one of the Victorian era. His previous books include Jack the Ripper, Letters From Hell and Jack the Ripper and the Whitechapel Murders. He lives in Cambridgeshire.
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Additional information
| Publisher | New edition (25 Aug. 2005), Sutton Publishing |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 480 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0750934085 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0750934084 |
| Dimensions | 12.8 x 2.77 x 19.2 cm |
by G. M. Buchanan
This is an excellent book covering the entire life of James Berry the Public Hangman. It gives a brief review of his early school boy days and later the many varied jobs he had before becoming hangman. These jobs included being a policeman.The book covers many of the executions he carried out,some in more detail than others,and it also covers the personal effect the job had on him and his family.The book refers to newspaper articles,debates in the House of Commons and some of Berrys’ personal notes and the author has put it all together to produce a very good book.
by H. K. Wheatley
This was purchased as a christmas present, not my cup of tea but she said it was a enjoyable read and was happy with it. Not to be read before going to sleep…lol
by nps
Very good value for money. Excellent condition
by Masspecguy
The book is a concise editon of every ececution Berry carried out
It comes alive only when theres a story behined the person who was executed .
With this in mind I felt some of the book could have been eliminated
nevertheless a good read written from 100 year old extracts suitabley imposed with comtemperary thoughts
by Mr. K. B. Abraham
What a read! They say that there are 2 things certain in this life: 1) that you’ll be taxed and 2) that you’ll die. I am not a weirdo, but when i get a biog, one of the first things i look up is: ‘how did they die?’ cos basically, ‘how will i die?’ to read the last moments of those that walked to the gallows are….wow! To execute a former schoolmate, to execute a former female acquaintence, to execute someone that you believe to be innocent, to execute someone of the opposite sex that has the same surname as you. All are in this book. (So too are, ‘the man that they couldn’t hang’, and also when things go wrong, i.e. decapitation and strangulation.)
It gives an insight into the mind of an executioner, who was only doing his job,(ie the death sentence was the decision of the legal/judicial system, and he was only carrying out his duty.) James Berry was a man that had a conscience, and yet had to do his duty.
This is a book for both those that are pro capital punishment and those that are anti capital punishment. It is ‘open’,and I am, and have always been anti c/p. But to both sides of the debate, I believe that this book should’ve been a ‘best seller’!
by sid
ok
by rocky
Very good. Thanks
by Robert C Swift
Very pleased