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Dorset murders
Although an idyllic setting, where violent crime is thankfully rare, the Channel Islands have a shadier side. Contained within the pages of this book are twenty-five historic cases of murder committed in the Channel Islands. They include a fatal assault on John Francis in 1894, which remains unsolved; the murder by Philippe Jolin of his father in 1829; and the murder and suicide committed by Eugenie Toupin in 1881, all of which occurred in Jersey. In Guernsey, elderly widow Elizabeth Saujon was murdered during the course of a robbery in 1853, Edward Hooper drunkenly beat his wife to death in 1890, and housekeeper Elizabeth de la Mare murdered her elderly employer in 1935, wanting to hasten his demise on the understanding that she was the sole beneficiary of his will.Nicola Sly’s carefully researched and enthralling text will appeal to everyone interested in true crime and the shady side of Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney’s history.
Somerset Murders brings together numerous murderous tales that shocked not only the county but also made headlines throughout the country. They include the cases of Elizabeth and Betty Branch, a mother and daughter who beat a young servant girl to death in Hemington in 1740; 13-year-old Betty Trump, whose throat was cut while walking home at Buckland St Mary in 1823; factory worker Joan Turner, battered to death in Chard in 1829; George Watkins, killed in a bare knuckle fight outside the Running Horse pub in Yeovil in 1843; Constance Kent, who confessed in 1865 to killing her half-brother at Rode in 1860, nearly five years earlier; and elderly landlay, Mrs Emily Bowers, strangled in her bed in Middlezoy in 1947. Nicola Sly and John van der Kiste, co-authors of Cornish Murders in this series, have an encyclopedic knowledge of their subject. Their carefully researched, well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Somerset's history.
A Grim Almanac of Dorset is a day-by-day catalogue of 365 ghastly tales from around the county. Full of dreadful deeds, strange disappearances and a multitude of mysteries, this almanac explores the darker side of the Dorset's past. The wicked, the mad, the violent and the bad are all found in this volume. Here are stories of tragedy, torment and the truly unfortunate with diverse tales of highwaymen, murderers, bodysnatchers, duellists, poachers, rioters and rebels. Joining them are accounts of tragic suicides, accidents and bizarre deaths, including the woman who tripped over a dog in Weymouth in 1878 and a soldier who dozed off while smoking on top of the Nothe Fort in 1877 and fell off the parapet. All these, plus tales of fires, shipwrecks, explosions, and accidents by land, sea and air, are here. Generously illustrated, this chronicle is an entertaining and readable record of Dorset's grim past. Read on ... if you dare!
Life in the historic county of Hampshire has not always been peaceful, for over the years it has experienced numerous murders, some of which are little known outside the county borders, others that have shocked the nation. These include the killing of 'Sweet Fanny Adams' in 1867; the horrific murder committed by the postmaster at Grayshott in 1901; the mysterious poisoning of Hubert Chevis in 1943; and the gun battle in the village of Kingsclere in 1944, which resulted in the deaths of three people. Nicola Sly's carefully researched, well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Hampshire's history, and should give much food for thought.
Shropshire Murders brings together numerous murderous tales, some which were little known outside the county, and others which made national headlines. Contained within the pages of this book are the stories behind some of the most heinous crimes ever committed in Shropshire. They include the Revd Robert Foulkes, who killed his illegitimate child in 1678; the murder of Catherine Lewis by John Mapp at Longden in 1867; the horrific axe murders committed by John Doughty at Church Stretton in 1924; and the tragic death of Dennis O'Neill, who was beaten and starved by his foster parents in 1944. Nicola Sly's carefully researched and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Shropshire's history.
This study brings together numerous murderous tales that shocked not only the city but also made national headlines. Contained within the pages of this book are the stories behind some of the most heinous crimes ever committed in Bristol. They include the murder and suicide of a brother and sister in 1842; the tragic death of 10-year-old Mabel Price in 1897; the killing of Ada James in a fit of jealous rage by her fiancé Ted Palmer in 1913; and the suspicious death of sexual deviant Cecil Cornock, which led to his wife Ann being charged with his murder before her subsequent acquittal in 1946. Nicola Sly's carefully researched, well-illustrated, and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Bristol's history, and should give much food for thought.
Collection of historic, horrid happenings from across the country that demonstrates that Christmas is not necessarily a time of peace.
An instant classic of teenage self-discovery by prize-winning Nicola Barker, an "anarchic and lovingly perverse writer" (Ali Smith) Summer, 1981. Medve, sixteen years old and six foot three in her crocheted stockings, is marooned in a semi-derelict hotel on a tiny island off the coast of Devon, England. There's nothing to do but paint novelty mugs, dream of literary murders, and despair of her gothically unprepossessing family--including Mo, her sex toy-inventing mother; Poodle, her shamefully flat-chested sister; and four-year-old Feely, who wants to grow up to be a bulimic. Until one day a ginger-headed stranger arrives . . . One of our most enjoyably unconventional contemporary writers, Nicola Barker, roots out the darkly surreal in a forgotten corner of the world. Five Miles from Outer Hope is a startling, luminous book, and Medve's voice speaks bluntly from the heart, with results that are original and poignant.
Wiltshire Murders brings together numerous murderous tales, some which were little known outside the county, and others which made national headlines. Contained within the pages of this book are the stories behind some of the most heinous crimes ever committed in Wiltshire. They include the murder of Eliza Jones, stabbed to death by her common-law husband in 1836; the shooting of a policeman in 1892; Mary Ann Nash, who disposed of her illegitimate son in 1907 by dropping him into a disused well; and Edward Richards, who died in Trowbridge during an attempted robbery in 1925. Nicola Sly's carefully researched, well-illustrated and enthralling text will appeal to anyone interested in the shady side of Wiltshire's history, and should give much food for thought.