Simon Langley 2.0

I have read various books from this particular genre, but this is the best one I have read thus far. If you like history and are not afraid of a bit of gore then you should definitely give it a go.

One striking aspect of the book is the brutality of the British justice system in times gone by. For example if you fell foul of royalty you’d be executed for treason by being hung drawn and quartered (dragged on a hurdle to the place of execution, hanged until almost dead, bowels and ‘privvy members’ removed and burnt whilst you are still alive, heart removed and body chopped into quarters, dipped in tar and displayed on gibbets). Bearing in mind you could meet this fate by simply writing something that offended the royal family, it’s no wonder lots of people met their end is this way. Rather curiously if a woman murdered her husband in the 1500s, she could be executed for treason as well.

Another fascinating aspect of the book is the superstitions and beliefs of the day. For example people who were executed (or so we are told) were more concerned with what happened to their body after death than dying. Being gibbeted (the whole or part of body of the executed being hung in chains on a road/river) was literally a fate worse than death. Another example of superstition of the day were the unlucky souls convicted as a highwayman, a crime that would almost certainly be punished with death. The executed felon would be buried at a crossroads where a stake was driven through their heart, in the belief that their spirit would take the wrong road…

Other parts of the book include chapters on the notorious prison Newgate, where felons had to pay to board, Tyburn where an estimated 100,000 people were executed over the years and The Tower of London which was rather gruesome to say the least.

Some other interesting aspects of the book include:

• The general public loved ‘good hanging’ and tens of thousands used to turn up to watch. Gory executions were most popular.
• Some felons were sentenced to a stint in the stocks or pillory. Depending on the nature of the crime committed and the popularity of the felon, the general public could stone the accused to death. ‘Willful murder by persons unknown’ was cited as the cause of death in these cases.
• Heretics (those practicing witchcraft etc) were burnt at the stake. Often if the wind was strong, instead of fanning the flames it would prolong the suffering by preventing the flames taking hold and blowing the noxious smoke away. It was known for people to take up to 2 hours to die if this situation arose, their causes of death being ‘loss of blood plasma’.
• Those felons who would not enter a plea in the 1600’s were often subjected to a form of torture that was frowned upon even then. Pressing involved the gradual application of successive weights to the accused until they either died or indeed entered their plea. Some persons were known to withstand weights of 400lbs before succumbing to the inevitable.
• Traitors and enemies of the state after their execution had their heads placed onto a stake and kept on London Bridge. There were so many heads there, a ‘Keeper of the Heads’ was required.
• After being mercilessly tortured, Guy Fawkes managed to jump from the gallows, breaking his neck and thus avoiding being hung, drawn and quartered. His fellow conspirators tried the same trick but the rope snapped and they were subjected to even more brutal deaths.
• After an execution, the family of the deceased would have to literally fight for the body which would often be claimed by surgeons’ agents who would do gruesome experiments/research on the corpse.

Enjoyed these gruesome facts? If so go and get the book!