Murderers, Robbers & Highwaymen: True Tales of Crime and Punishment in Eighteenth-Century England

by Stephen Vincent Brennan (Editor)

Despite the frequency with which criminals were sentenced to death, crime was still on the rise in England in the mid-1700s. Men were thrown in jail daily for everything from associating with gypsies to cutting down fruit trees and stealing sheep. Although these were punishable offenses, the crimes that made headlines in the local papers were much more serious.Men—and sometimes even women—in England were tried and executed every day for their roles in murders, robberies, kidnappings, and more. This collection features some of the most notorious and slightly disturbing stories of the crimes committed and the subsequent punishments assigned. Criminals who appear in this book

Many of these tales were first published in The Newgate Calendar , a popular publication that debuted in multiple volumes between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Historians believed that every household had a copy of at least one volume of the Calendar , which they stored alongside their copies of the Bible and The Pilgrim’s Progress .

440 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2013

About the author

Stephen Brennan is the co-author of The Adventurous Boy's Handbook and The Adventurous Girl's Handbook, and editor of The Best Pirate Stories Ever Told and The Best Sailing Stories Ever Told. He has worked as a circus clown, teacher, cabaret artist, actor, director, shepherd, and playwright. He lives in New York City and Woodstock, New York.

Reviews

[Kathleen]

Not, as I first thought, a collection of stories of eighteenth and nineteenth century crime, but actually a collection of original news stories of eighteenth and nineteenth century crime. Which is not a problem, as long as you're aware of it! The language is distinctly Victorian and judgmental (especially of women and poor people), so know that going in. However, the stories are really fascinating. I remember Jonathan Wilde, a couple of specific murderers, and Elizabeth Brownrigg especially. If you're interested in historical crime, this is definitely a book for you!

[Rob Atkinson]

Generally great fun, reproducing contemporary pulp true-crime pamphets, via the Newgate Calendar, of the most lurid British crimes and their punishments from c. 1700-1805, in the purple prose of the era. Some culprits are familiar like Jonathan Wild and Dick Turpin, others more obscure, bizarre, and equally fascinating in their own right.