Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in the Isle of Wight


Book Description

Discover the darker side of this scenic destination with over twenty true-crime tales, accompanied by photos and illustrations. Its natural beauty attracts countless visitors—but notorious cases of murder, deceit, and pure malice have marked the long history of this apparently peaceful island. From crimes of passion to opportunistic killings and coldly premeditated acts of murder, the full spectrum of criminality is recounted here. For this journey into a bloody, neglected aspect of the past, Isle of Wight historian and crime writer M.J. Trow has selected over twenty notorious episodes that give a fascinating insight into criminal acts and the criminal mind. He throws light into the shadowy world of the smugglers, pirates, and robbers who plagued the island’s early history. He recalls the escape attempts of Charles I from Carisbrooke Castle, the mysterious loss of the Mary Rose and HMS Royal George, and the scandalous conduct of Lady Worsley. In vivid, sometimes shocking detail, he reconstructs notable criminal cases, including the brutal murders that have marked the island’s more recent past. In addition, he delves into the history of the island’s three prisons—Albany, Parkhurst, and Camp Hill—which have housed many of Britain’s most violent criminals.




Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths Shrewsbury


Book Description

Criminal cases give us a fascinating, often harrowing insight into crime & the criminal mind, into policing methods & the justice system. They also tell us much about social conditions & attitudes in the past. David Cox's account of 16 notorious cases in Shrewsbury & around Shropshire is a particularly strong & revealing study of this kind.




Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in Southampton


Book Description

The stormy past of England’s south coast city is vividly depicted in these true crime tales from the author of Jack the Ripper: An Encyclopedia. The criminal cases vividly described by John J. Eddleston in this gripping book take the reader on a journey into the dark secret side of Southampton’s past. The city has been the setting for a series of horrific, bloody, sometimes bizarre incidents. There is the story of Augustus John Penny, who shot his mother to death while she was lying in her bed after discovering that she had come into money and refused to pass any on to him. There is James Camb, who was convicted of murder even though the body of his victim, an actress, was never found. And there is the case of Michael George Tatum, the only British killer of the twentieth century to use an African club as his chosen weapon of murder. But perhaps the most intriguing case is the Southampton garage murder of Vivian Messiter in October 1928. In spite of masterful police work, there was an eighteen-month delay before the killer, William Henry Podmore, finally paid the price on the gallows for that brutal crime. Eddleston’s selection of cases from Southampton’s criminal history will be compelling reading for anyone who is interested in the sinister side of human nature.




Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths Around Portsmouth


Book Description

More than five hundred years of British true crime stories—from mutinies and murders to duels and executions. This collection of historical true crime tales includes more than twenty notorious episodes that range from medieval times to the modern era, and offers a fascinating insight into criminal acts and the criminal mind. Set in the vicinity of Portsmouth, England, these intriguing and shocking cases cover an extraordinary variety of misdeeds, some motivated by brutal impulse or despair, others by malice. Most involve ill-fated individuals who are only known to us because they were caught up in crime, but more famous episodes appear as well, such as the murder of the Duke of Buckingham and the disappearance of the Cold War frogman Buster Crabb. Includes illustrations




Foul deeds & suspicious deaths in Guernsey


Book Description

Contains chapters that investigate the darker side of humanity in cases of murder, deceit and pure malice. From crimes of passion to opportunistic killings and coldly premeditated acts of murder, this work recounts the spectrum of criminality, bringing to life the sinister history of Guernsey from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century.




Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths Around the Tees


Book Description

Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths Around the Tees, contains over sixty terrible and gruesome tales, that are set in the locality including; Barnard Castle, Darlington, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and many of the surrounding villages. In the nineteenth-century, Victorian industrialists built their empires in the beautiful scenery and charming villages of the Tees area, using the river for transport of the commodities that were produced. Small, cramped houses were built to accommodate the rising population and often three or more families would live in one small dwelling. Many of the workers were illiterate and heavy drinkers. Domestic violence and drunken brawls were common amongst the poorer classes. Women and children were often a burden to the breadwinner and were held in low esteem. In a period spanning 100 years from 1799-1899 these well-researched events give an insight into the darker side of our region's history and heritage. Take a journey into the darker side of your area and let your spine tingle, as you read Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths Around the Tees. Key Selling Points * This new series by Wharncliffe Books, has been very successful in other local towns. * Readers always have a thirst for grisly tales of past misdemeanours in their local town. * Well illustrated using local sources and articles. Author Maureen Anderson was born in Scotland, as a child she was taken to Australia, and finally returned back to Britain in the early 1970's. Maureen now lives in the village of Seaton, where she carries out her research on ancient history. Maureen's parents were keen members of the National Trust, which gave Maureen her love of historical buildings and all things Victorian. Maureen also edited 'Aspects of Teesside', earlier this year for Wharncliffe Books.




Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths Around Uxbridge


Book Description

This west London town has its own character—and its own deadly criminal history—from the author of Unsolved Murders of Victorian and Edwardian London. Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths Around Uxbridge takes the reader on a sinister and sad journey through centuries of local crime and conspiracy, meeting victims and villains of all sorts along the way. There is no shortage of harrowing—and revealing—incidents of evil and despair to recount from the earliest recorded history of the Uxbridge district up to the present day. Jonathan Oates’s fascinating research has uncovered some grisly events and unsavory individuals whose conduct throws a harsh light on the history of this suburban area west of London. His book records crime and punishment in all its dreadful variety. Among many acts of violence and wickedness are the burning to death of five Protestant martyrs and the execution of a turbulent priest in Tudor times, a family massacred at Denham in 1870, and several brutal murders that have never been solved or explained. Cases that stand out as particularly shocking or bizarre include a son who was killed by his mother, a woman who died after an illegal operation, the Uxbridge tea-shop murder of 1951, and a man tried for manslaughter and later murder in West Drayton, who committed suicide two decades later. This chronicle of Uxbridge’s hidden history will be compelling reading for anyone who is interested in the local history of the area and in the dark side of human nature.




Who Was Jack the Ripper?


Book Description

An international organization of Jack the Ripper experts reveal the most likely suspects in this ultimate true crime guide. Jack the Ripper is the ultimate cold case. While the Whitechapel Murders of 1888 have remained unsolved for more than a century, hundreds of theories have been suggested as to the killer's identity. Despite numerous books claiming to unmask the infamous Victorian villain, none have come close . . . . until now. The H:Division Crime Club is the world's largest body of experts on the Jack the Ripper murders. Now leading members of H:Division share their research into each suspect, drawing on original police reports, eye witness accounts and authoritative analysis. With each chapter discussing a separate suspect in detail, H:Division uses 21st century profiling techniques, H:Division reveals the men most likely to have been Jack the Ripper.




Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Jersey


Book Description

In a companion volume to her best-selling 'Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in Guernsey', Glynis Cooper turns her attention to the dark side of the past in Jersey. And there is no shortage of shocking stories to tell - crimes of passion and despair, cases of murder, deceit and pure malice, opportunistic killings and coldly premeditated acts of wickedness.




Unsolved Murders in South Yorkshire


Book Description

Whilst the passage of time can and has uncovered many secrets, killers could get away with their crimes in 1596 when Shakespeare penned these words and this is certainly the case in more recent times as Unsolved Murders in South Yorkshire clearly demonstrate.The early chapters include cases of historic interest where killers certainly went to the grave in the knowledge they had got away with murder. Cases include suspicious deaths which left detectives in South Yorkshire baffled, but which were, it would seem, acts of callous murder which were not recognised as such due to dubious police opinions and practices. There are also cases of clear murder such as a man shot in the head during the Victorian period, whose killer was never identified.The later chapters, however, feature more recent cold cases where there is still the possibility that the wicked men or women who were responsible for such acts of inhumanity may remain within our society.Cases include a man murdered for less than 70 in a city centre multi storey car park, a teenage girl abducted, sexually assaulted and left dead on a dung hill, a young mother who entered prostitution and died at the hands of a man with more than sex on his mind, a pregnant woman who left home one day to go shopping but was found days later dead in a ditch with her throat cut and a disabled woman who was strangled in her home which was then set ablaze.For some of these cases there is the chance that someone has information which, despite the passage of decades, could lead to one or more individuals standing trial for murder. Justice can still prevail.