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Famous Trials #6
Famous Trials 6
The four cases of murder that are examined in this volume are remarkable in that they were all the focus of intense media interest at the time. They each still retain a power to both fascinate and horrify today's reader.
The evidence given at the trial of Thurtell and Hunt in 1824 gives a graphic picture of the seedy underworld of the Georgian sporting 'fancy' as well as a glimpse into a now vanished legal system. Over a hundred years later, Frederick Nodder was accused first of the abduction and then of the murder of a little girl, whose body took five months to surface from the river.
The case against Peter Barnes and four others, two of them women, took place on the eve of the Second World War. They were accused of involvement in the IRA bombing in Coventry: five people died and over sixty were injured.
Finally, John Haigh eventually claimed he had murdered as many as nine people and had drunk their blood. He was charged with the single murder of an elderly lady whose body he had dissolved in acid — the forensic evidence against him was all too clear.
The evidence given at the trial of Thurtell and Hunt in 1824 gives a graphic picture of the seedy underworld of the Georgian sporting 'fancy' as well as a glimpse into a now vanished legal system. Over a hundred years later, Frederick Nodder was accused first of the abduction and then of the murder of a little girl, whose body took five months to surface from the river.
The case against Peter Barnes and four others, two of them women, took place on the eve of the Second World War. They were accused of involvement in the IRA bombing in Coventry: five people died and over sixty were injured.
Finally, John Haigh eventually claimed he had murdered as many as nine people and had drunk their blood. He was charged with the single murder of an elderly lady whose body he had dissolved in acid — the forensic evidence against him was all too clear.
199 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
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February 2, 2025DNF. Tho I’m possibly just not in the mood.
March 25, 2023
[2.75]
Four criminal trials and I must say some were more interesting than the other - despite one that was just boring and didn’t make any sence.
Four criminal trials and I must say some were more interesting than the other - despite one that was just boring and didn’t make any sence.
April 11, 2023
The first two were very boring, but the second two cases were fascinating.
December 12, 2012
More tales of sordid crime told in a direct and simple style.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews