The disturbing, criminal history of Britain’s “World Capital City of Pop”—home of murderers, thieves, bodysnatchers . . . and The Beatles. The city of Liverpool, England, was like every other city energized by the Victorian boon in industry and trade. It is best known today as the home of the British Invasion and music that changed the world. But Liverpool’s history has a less harmonious side, and a dark past that reaches back centuries. True crime historian, Stephen Wade, goes there. In Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in Liverpool, Wade reveals the city’s most shocking crimes: a notoriously deadly duel in 1806; gang wars and the infamous nineteenth-century “Cholera Riots”; a killer butcher and a terrorist bombing; grandma killers and sinister sisters; swindlers and crimes of passion; poisonings, bodysnatchers, and serial killers; a murderer who claimed to be possessed by demons; and a terrifying hunt for the fiend behind the Ripper murders. Wade invites readers into the shadowy backstreets of a fabled city in this criminally fascinating chronicle of misdeeds, madmen, and real-life mysteries.

These stories from the dark history of Liverpool inform us of the violent and tragic lives of people caught up in poisionings, brawls and riots. Some tales are set in families suffering serial murder, others are gun crimes and attacks in the tough dockalnd of the city. The reader interested in criminal tales of this vilolent and divided city will learn about such bleak acts as: Bodysnatching for the Anatomists * A Poachers deadly revenge War-time rackets * Killers sent to the gallows via Walton Prison and many more

Martin Baggoley was born in Eccles . He spent several years working in London and Salford as a civil servant, before qualifying as a probation officer in 1976. Since then, he has worked in the Greater Manchester area, and during this period gained a masters degree in criminology. He has written for a number of UK and American professional journals on criminal justice issues. His main interest is the history of crime and punishment and for this book, he has combind his professional experience and academic expertise with his interest in local history.

The criminal cases vividly described by Paul Harrison in this gripping book take the reader on a journey into the dark secret side of Glasgow's long history. The city has been the setting for a series of horrific, bloody, sometimes bizarre incidents over the centuries. From crimes of brutal premeditation to those born of rage or despair, the whole range of human weakness and wickedness is represented here. There are tales of secret passion and betrayal, robbery, murder, gangland violence, executions, and instances of domestic cruelty and malice that ended in death. Among the fascinating and varied selection of cases Paul Harrison covers are an IRA ambush and gun battle, the policeman who murdered his lover, a Wild West-style shootout between police and a desperate robber, a sequence of horrendous serial murders including the case of Bible John, and the extraordinary acquittal of John Mitchell Henderson. The human dramas the author describes are often played out in the most commonplace of circumstances, but others are so odd as to be stranger than fiction. This grisly chronicle of the hidden history of Glasgow will be compelling reading for anyone who is interested in the dark side of human nature.

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.

The author of A History of London’s Prisons reveals the ugly criminal past of one of England’s most beautiful cities. It hardly seems surprising that what has become England’s fourth city has within its rich history a sinister and darker side. Take a journey to discover cases of petty crime, riots, burglary, robbery, assault, suicide, unlawful killing, manslaughter, and murder, as well as a host of quirky and quizzical crimes from the early Victorian period to modern times. One sensational case covered is that of Sheffield-born Charles Peace, considered by some criminologists to be England’s most notorious murderer. He was hanged at Leeds on February 25, 1879, for the killing of Arthur Dyson at Darnall in 1876. Peace’s criminality seemed to know no bounds. Several other sensational and forgotten murders are featured and a range of cases mentioned refer to many former landmarks in and around old Sheffield, from public houses and hotels to factories, shops, and steelworks. This book is sure to be an absorbing read for anyone interested in our local social history.

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.

Hull is best known for its thriving port. The industrial revolution which profited Hull so well, came a a higher cost than most would expect. In only 100 years the population rose from 22000 to 239000. Houses were built quickly and close together, public health suffered dramatically and disease was rife.The vast population meant a very high level of crime. With almost one murder every other week, assaults, suicides and other acts of violence were so frequent that newspapers only reported the most vile of crimes. Victorian Hull was a very dangerous place to live indeed!David Goodman has put together a number of murders suicides and unsolved murders from 1873 through to 1924. Stories include: 'Murder on the Farm 1903'—Annie Marshall a 15 year old farm worker was shot twice in the face and dumped into the river by a fellow worker. 'Horrific Child Murder 1873'—Sarah Alice, only 4 months old was beheaded by her own mother after she failed to 'bond' with the child, she was found not guilty on the grounds of insanity and detained at her majesty's pleasure.

True tales of betrayal, robbery, and murder across Worcestershire, from Redditch to Upton-on-Severn—includes illustrations and photographs! Though the Battle of Worcester brought an end to the English Civil War in 1651, it was not the end of the bloodshed for the West Midland county of Worcestershire. Known for its rolling hills and abundant farmland, it has also been fertile ground for thieves, murderers, and scoundrals of all sorts. Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths Around Worcester takes readers on a journey through centuries of sinister crimes, from the infamous to the stuff of local legend. Worcester’s dark past goes back to the seventeenth century, when highwaymen haunted the surrounding forests. In this chilling volume, crime historian and Worcestershire resident Anne Bradford chronicles the county’s history of forgery and betrayal, highway robbery and murder, riots and public executions. She also uncovers instances of domestic cruelty that resulted in death. From premediated crimes to desperate acts of passion, a range of human drama is covered in stories such as “The Gentleman who Murdered his Mother,” “The Lovers’ Pact,” and “Death of a Hop-picker,” among others.

A young waylaid and battered with a hedge stake while returning home from Mansfield on a summer evening; four family members butchered in a blazing house just off Commercial Street; an old farmer speared with a hay fork in the mire of a rural farmyard. Such cases detailed here show how often violent death has visited Mansfield in the past.