London

by David Brandon and Alan Brooke, Alan Brooke

Tyburn Fields is the best known site of execution in London, but London may be aptly named the executioner's city, so many were the places where executions could and did occur. This work reveals the capital as a place where the bodies of criminals defined the boundaries of the city and heads on poles greeted patrons on London Bridge.

Genres: History, True Crime, Nonfiction, London

Hardcover

First published December 1, 2006

Reviews

[Deanne]

Interesting for the history, and I'm a fan of the macabre.

[Lesley Paris]

Pick and Dip book. As it isn't a novel, it's a great book for filling time or wasting time. I found the social history very interesting.

[Chandrashekar Gangaraju]

I was very interesting read. I did wonder whether the brutality with which people were prosecuted both by the state and the public was unique to Britain and London. There is definitely a lot of censorship in history teaching because I do not think I ever read the gory details in any other place. I was amazed to see how many people stood up to their beliefs despite the punishment and this book could be used as an argument to say punishment doesn't always deter.
It is shocking to even think that the general public including children would throng to watch in such big numbers but also the intricate system with a kind of capitalism (bribes, pamphlets, etc) enmeshed into it.
I think it is a must for those born and brought in the west today to understand some barbaric practices in societies like the 'sharia law' in the third world we hear frequently. One can get an idea of the confluence of religion, monarchy & politics, societal changes, early media, penal system and also the emergence of reformers.
I did wonder whether one of the authors David Brandon is a descendent of hangmen Gregory and Richard Brandon.

[Meaghan]

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 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.

[Liz 'Tova' Weisblatt]

It's so...interesting. Bloody, political, religious and sexual explinations/motives given. Both historial and modern information. SO COOL!