Some thirty-five thousand people were condemned to death in England and Wales between 1770 and 1830, and seven thousand were ultimately executed, the majority convicted of crimes such as burglary, horse theft, or forgery. Mostly poor trades people--weavers, clerks, whipmakers--these terrified men and women would suffer excruciating death before large and excited crowds. Indeed, crowds of three to seven thousand were normal, and for famous cases, the mob could swell to fifty thousand or more (a hundred thousand were said to ...
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Some thirty-five thousand people were condemned to death in England and Wales between 1770 and 1830, and seven thousand were ultimately executed, the majority convicted of crimes such as burglary, horse theft, or forgery. Mostly poor trades people--weavers, clerks, whipmakers--these terrified men and women would suffer excruciating death before large and excited crowds. Indeed, crowds of three to seven thousand were normal, and for famous cases, the mob could swell to fifty thousand or more (a hundred thousand were said to have watched the hanging of murderers Holloway and Haggarty--so great a throng that thirty spectators were crushed to death). What brought people out for such a gruesome spectacle? How did they feel about the deadly justice meted out in their midst? These are some of the questions examined in The Hanging Tree , a fascinating history of public executions in their awful heyday in England. Drawing on letters, diaries, ballads, and poignant appeals for mercy, V.A.C. Gatrell vividly recreates the social atmosphere and heated debate swirling about these cruel spectacles. He gives readers an unflinching look at what these executions were really like, paints a colorful portrait of the large crowds who gathered to watch, and describes the part the gallows played in the popular imagination (as reflected in flash ballads, Punch and Judy shows, and broadsides). Gatrell illuminates the debate over public execution that raged in polite society, discussing the commentary of writers such as Boswell, Byron, Thackeray, and Dickens, most of whom deplored the behavior of the crowd more than the inhumanity of the sentence (Macaulay denounced abolitionists as effeminate). And Gatrell also examines the attitudes of the judges, politicians, and monarch who decided who should be reprieved and who should hang (a mortal decision often delivered with the one-sentence formula: "Let the law run its course"). Throughout the book, Gatrell traces how attitudes to death and suffering changed as the century progressed (after 1837, for instance, only murderers were hung, and after 1868, public exeuctions were abolished). Perhaps most surprising, Gatrell reveals that the demise of public hanging owed little to humanitarianism. In part, polite society simply preferred not to look at the ugly machine of justice that subtly served their interests. But ultimately, Gatrell contends, it was the unleashed passions of the scaffold crowd the unsettled the middle class: the crowd mirrored the state's violence too candidly and gave the lie to middle-class pretensions of civility and humanity. Panoramic in scope, authoritatively researched, and gripping from beginning to end, The Hanging Tree radically alters our sense of the past. It is not only a history of emotions, but also an emotional story, invested with the author's own incredulity and anger over the merciless events he chronicles. Taking up the plight of those who felt the hand of justice at its heaviest, he recaptures the lived experience of people poorly served by their own criminal law.
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Add this copy of The Hanging Tree: Execution and the English People 1770 to cart. $14.65, good condition, Sold by HPB-Red rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Oxford University Press.
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Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have some wear or writing/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Hanging Tree: Execution and the English People 1770 to cart. $14.67, good condition, Sold by HPB-Red rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Oxford University Press.
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Good. Connecting readers with great books since 1972! Used textbooks may not include companion materials such as access codes, etc. May have some wear or writing/highlighting. We ship orders daily and Customer Service is our top priority!
Add this copy of The Hanging Tree: Execution and the English People, to cart. $14.88, poor condition, Sold by Anybook rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lincoln, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1996 by Oxford University Press, U.S. A.
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This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has soft covers. Book contains pencil markings. In poor condition, suitable as a reading copy. Water damage. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 1000grams, ISBN: 9780192853325.
Add this copy of Hanging Tree: Execution and the English People 1770 to cart. $17.99, good condition, Sold by Book Bear rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from West Brookfield, MA, UNITED STATES, published 1996 by Oxford University Press.
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Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. pp. 634. 634 pp. Tightly bound. Spine not compromised. Text is free of markings. No ownership markings. Light bump to lower right corner front cover and pages.
Add this copy of The Hanging Tree: Execution and the English People 1770 to cart. $25.24, very good condition, Sold by Hay-on-Wye Booksellers rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Hereford, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1994 by Oxford University Press, USA.
Add this copy of The Hanging Tree: Execution and the English People 1770 to cart. $26.00, very good condition, Sold by The Book Junction rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Shippensburg, PA, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Oxford University Press.
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VG in VG to VG- jacket. DJ: some rubbing & edgewear; small creases/chips/closed tears at edges & corners; few scratches. Book: some rubbing & edgewear; some yellowing; previous owner's crimp inside; otherwise overall clean & tight. 634 pages.
Add this copy of Hanging Tree: Execution and the English People 1770 to cart. $26.50, good condition, Sold by Book Bear rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from West Brookfield, MA, UNITED STATES, published 1994 by Oxford University Press.
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Good. Very Good Dust Jacket. 1st Printing. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. 634 pp. Tightly bound. Corners not bumped. No ownership markings. Very good dust jacket. PLEASE NOTE: There is light pencil underlining in the text. It can be erased. First Edition / First Printing. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2. This copy is smyth sewn. Smyth sewing is a method of bookbinding where groups of folded pages (referred to as signatures) are stitched together using binder thread. Each folded signature is sewn together individually with multiple stitches and then joined with other signatures to create the complete book block. This is the traditional and best method of bookbinding.
Add this copy of The Hanging Tree: Execution and the English People, to cart. $27.74, good condition, Sold by Anybook rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Lincoln, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1994 by Oxford University Press.
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This is an ex-library book and may have the usual library/used-book markings inside. This book has hardback covers. In good all round condition. Dust jacket in good condition. Please note the Image in this listing is a stock photo and may not match the covers of the actual item, 1350grams, ISBN: 9780198204138.
Add this copy of The Hanging Tree Execution and the English People 1770 to cart. $31.13, good condition, Sold by Rothwell & Dunworth Ltd rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dulverton, SOMERSET, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1994 by Oxford University Press, 1994. 9780198204138.
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1st edn. Tall 8vo. Original gilt lettered blue cloth (faint spotting on page edges and upper board lightly marked-otherwise VG), dustwrapper (VG in protective cover). Pp. xix + 634, with b&w illus (no inscriptions).
I started reading this as a library book and I found it so well written by a really interesting author that I felt I had to have it to read the whole book not just the chapter my course referred me to. Now I have it for my own and I love it; the empathy with which the topics are covered and the research and how he has got enticed more deeply into his subject makes it an invaluable source on crime and punishment 18th to 19th centuries
