What do you think?
Rate this book
The Eleventh Commandment : Jimmy O'Connor
The Magnificent O’Connors
The original 1976 autobiography of Jimmy O'Connor– as heard on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds - The Magnificent O'Connors
A true story of injustice, survival, and the fight against the death penalty.
In 1941, George Alfred Ambridge was found brutally murdered in his Kilburn home. Within days, James O’Connor — a young man just released from prison — was arrested, convicted on flimsy evidence, and sentenced to hang.
He spent eight terrifying weeks in Pentonville’s condemned cell, awaiting execution on his birthday. Then, with hours to spare, came a last-minute reprieve. What followed were ten lost years in the brutal prisons of Dartmoor and Parkhurst before his release — and a lifelong battle to prove his innocence.
Told with gritty realism and Cockney humour, this is the astonishing true story of a man who faced the hangman’s noose and lived to tell the tale.
The writer who helped launch the career of BAFTA-winning filmmaker Ken Loach, including the seminal Three Clear Sundays, comes a powerful and deeply human account of injustice — and a passionate reminder that Britain must never return to capital punishment.
⭐ A gripping true crime memoir
⭐ A vivid portrait of postwar Britain’s underworld
⭐ A compelling argument against the death penalty
The original 1976 autobiography of Jimmy O'Connor– as heard on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Sounds - The Magnificent O'Connors
A true story of injustice, survival, and the fight against the death penalty.
In 1941, George Alfred Ambridge was found brutally murdered in his Kilburn home. Within days, James O’Connor — a young man just released from prison — was arrested, convicted on flimsy evidence, and sentenced to hang.
He spent eight terrifying weeks in Pentonville’s condemned cell, awaiting execution on his birthday. Then, with hours to spare, came a last-minute reprieve. What followed were ten lost years in the brutal prisons of Dartmoor and Parkhurst before his release — and a lifelong battle to prove his innocence.
Told with gritty realism and Cockney humour, this is the astonishing true story of a man who faced the hangman’s noose and lived to tell the tale.
The writer who helped launch the career of BAFTA-winning filmmaker Ken Loach, including the seminal Three Clear Sundays, comes a powerful and deeply human account of injustice — and a passionate reminder that Britain must never return to capital punishment.
⭐ A gripping true crime memoir
⭐ A vivid portrait of postwar Britain’s underworld
⭐ A compelling argument against the death penalty
207 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 11, 2025
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
No one has reviewed this book yet.