Lord High Executioner: An Unshamed Look at Hangmen, Headsmen, and Their Kind

by Howard Engel

In Lord High Executioner, Howard Engel produces a wonderfully wise and witty social history of the men and women who represent our agents of death, and who have done our dirty work over the centuries.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, True Crime, Crime, Historical, Canada, Microhistory

Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

About the author

Howard Engel was a pioneering, award-winning Canadian mystery and non-fiction author. He is famous for his Benny Cooperman private-eye series, set in the Niagara Region of Ontario.

He and Eric Wright are two of the authors responsible for founding Crime Writers Of Canada. He had twins Charlotte and William with authoress, Marian Engel. He has a son, Jacob, with his late wife, authoress Janet Hamilton: with whom he co-wrote "Murder In Space".

A stroke in 2001 famously caused "alexia sine agraphia". It was a disease that hampered Howard's ability to comprehend written words, even though he could continue to write! He retired in Toronto, where he continued to inspire and mentor future authors and writers of all kinds. Maureen Jennings, creator of the Murdoch novels and still-running television series, is among them.

Unfortunately, he died of pneumonia that arose after a stroke. True animal-lovers: Howard's beloved living cat, Kali, is included by their family in his obituary.

Reviews

[Juliew. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very in depth look at executioners through time.Although not much is mentioned before the modern era I thought it was well researched and highly detailed.I really was looking for something more pertaining to the Medieval and the Tudor periods and unfortunately I was disappointed.I would however recommend it if this is not an issue for you.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were many interesting anecdotes and facts in this, but the writing does take away from the enjoyment. Sections felt disjointed, chapters jumping from early times to modern day, back to the 1880s... I found myself reading sections having no idea what time period we were in. The sections about occurrences 1880s and before were definitely the strongest sections. The modern day sections became unbearably preachy and aggressive. I found the abrupt tone changes in these sections took me out of the book and, again, felt disjointed.

There was also an over-reliance on quoted sections, some pages seeming to have as much as 70% of the content being quotes from other writings. I read a lot of non-fiction and understand that sometimes direct quotations from sources are necessary, but it would have been nice if there wasn't such a reliance on it.

**I received this copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting look into history and societies method of final punishment.

A glimpse of who these men were who were trained to do this unenviable task through centuries.

It's not a long read, but the book is supplimented with a few black and white illustrations photos.

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book. Not very interested in the twentieth century executioners, but you can't quite blame the author for that. It's a history book, though. So there's not much to it outside of raw, telegraphic facts. There's no insight on the evolution of capital punishment (or very little). I loved that discussed different issues related to execution, like the feelings of executioners towards killing women for example. Little dry for the subject matter, but interesting nonetheless.

[Mary Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars rounded up
There were so many inaccuracies that I can't give more stars. The author tended to go on little rants about his own beliefs on execution and that's just annoying. But there was enough of interest on various executioners that kept me from abandoning this. I just wish the author had stuck to the topic instead of wandering off every now and then.

[Diana Sandberg · Rating 1 out of 5]

A history of execution and executioners. Sounded like a good idea, but my eyes glazed over by the third chapter.

[Aishuu · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was kind of all over the place. I picked it up because the topic fascinates me (I may have spent several nights in the past falling down Wikipedia entries about historical murders). There's a macabre fascination in exploring the actual mechanics and the history of executioners.

This could have been an excellent read, but I spent time being annoyed by the writing. The text isn't well organized (the chapters kind of jump between topics in random fashion), and the writer relied way too much on making large quotes from original sources rather than paraphrasing and interpreting. I also thought some more explanation about the murderers would have fleshed things out better - there were references to famous cases that assumed the reader was familiar with them. I spent several times pulling out of the book to google for a better explanation.

I also didn't like the inconsistent first person narrator (who referred to friends as sources). I did find a couple of places that had fallen through the proofreader (notable some dates that flipped back and forth multiple times re New York's "first" murder between the 1620s and 1720s).

Despite me complaints, it is a fascinating topic and I liked finding out about the culture of executioners (the families, their reputations, and motivations). I just wish read like a final draft that had been vetted rather than a half-finished second draft.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This tells about various executions and styles of execution from around the world but mainly focusing on western society. Although the actual crimes are mentioned, it is more of a history of executioners themselves, the kind of men and occasionally women who took up the mantle and how it affected their lives. For anybody interested in historical true crime it is worth reading and macabre enough in parts to satisfy the more ghoulish of readers

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the title suggests this book actually deals with executioners, it doesn't. There are a few individuals that Engel discusses, but the book mainly deals with ways of executing people. Most of the stories are interesting; I didn't know that most people who were burned at the stake were strangled beforehand.

So not much to say. If you enjoy reading about the methods of execution and how they have developed throughout history, read it.

[Cyndee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and informative

Although it was interesting and informative, I found that it was a bit difficult to get through and I kept putting it down after a few pages; however, it is a book that is easy to put down and then pick up again because it examines different times, places, and people throughout the book.

[BJ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Personally found the small amount of the book read to be boring and poorly written for my taste.

[Karl · Rating 2 out of 5]

--- "if they and the churches they represented (not only Britain but in Europe, America, and elsewhere as well) had not been so convinced if a hereafter, of eternal bliss as well as damnation and hell's fires, the courts might not have been so confident in their judgements of death." (Engel: 36)
--- "When a culprit is shot in the back of the head, often while organ transplant are standing by, the victim's family is sent the spent bullet casing afterwards and charged for it. A felon is a member of a family, and in that culture a crime is seen as the failure of the family to cope with its anti-social members." (Engel: 145)

This book talks about executioners from different countries and those being executed, including the crimes they commited. It also talks about the different types of capital punishment around the world.

The book contains many drawings/engravings and it is after reading the book that you realise why there were so many drawings/engravings out there. But the book does not name the authors of these and that irritated me enormously. I also wished a drawing or engraving of Lady Betty. In my opinion the book should have given Art a better centre stage.

The book is very informative, with loads of facts and figures, and comparisons amongst countries, which is perhaps what makes this book stand apart from other similar books. References to women are included, some are victims and a few are executioners. Overall, the book did not feel to me too ambitious. Be aware that sometimes the descriptions of some executions can sound harrowing.

[John Ison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, informative and entertaining, in a perverse way. Mostly about British artisans beacause of their long history and better records. Engel is an abolitionist ans uses his history to promote his views. The history of executions really is a sordid affair, awash with injustice and cruelty. Expensive and ineffective in reducing crime, it has served to distract and entertain the masses for centuries from failures of rulers to address crime in meaningful ways. Worth a quick read but I am sure there are better treateses on the sunject for the serious student.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely well written and compelling look at state sponsored killers. Filled to the brim with captivating capital cases and gallows humor as well as some very unsettling charts and tables. It's grim and it's gruesome but it is also hilarious.

That having been said there is one minor omission in the Australian section that any reader of this book might find interesting. The first structure ever built by Europeans in Australia was the gallows used to hang the mutineers of the wreck of the Batavia. Just a small historical footnote that would have been fitting for that chapter.

[E. Kahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would be an easy 4-star if

1-it had more technical detail (yeah that's morbid, but it's a book about executioners; morbid is what we're here for)

2-it didn't have a sanctimonious tacked-on epilogue all about how "the death penalty is actually bad you guys." People are going to oppose or support it based on stronger convictions than can be changed by reading a little light entertainment.

It's fine for light reading.

[M. Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

The anecdotes were interesting, and you can tell a lot of research was done, but the author wrote like he would much rather be writing a book of poetry. There was also a heavy reliance on long quotes, usually followed by the author snarking at the writing.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the other reviews say, this book goes from ancient times to the present, and from making one point to making another, all within a sentence or two. If you can adjust to this style, though, there are many interesting facts and stories included in the pages of this book.