Pierrepoint: A Family of Executioners: The Story of Britain's Infamous Hangmen

by Steve Fielding

For 55 years, generations of the Pierrepoint family served as fearsome hangmen in England. The dynasty began in 1901 with Henry Pierrepoint, who was followed into the gruesome profession by his brother Thomas, and in time, his eldest son Albert. Between them, they carried out an amazing 900 executions. This book recounts the lives and tales of the Pierrepoint family, their reasons for taking up the profession, and the inside details of the execution cases and the deeds themselves. Insight is shed on the feuds and intense rivalry between fellow hangmen, as well as the notorious cases that kept the family firmly in the spotlight. With extracts from diaries and comments on the family's representation in the media, this book provides a fascinating look at a profession that is long gone, but certainly not forgotten.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Crime, Audiobook, History, Biography

319 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2006

Reviews

[Julia Bell]

I was twelve years old when the last man was hanged in Great Britain, so I was very interested in reading about the Pierrepoint family. At first I was stunned how many executions there were as I had always been under the impression that hangings were few and far between in the modern world. But it appeared the successive generations of Pierrepoints seemed to be dashing from prison to prison to carry out their duty.
It was a gruesome account, but fairly well written. I did think that in parts it was just a catalogue of the condemned person, a brief history of their crime and their demeanour on the gallows. I don't think it was necessary to give the reader the length of drop for each execution.
Another thing that surprised me was the number of men who murdered their spouses or other female relatives/acquaintances. In many cases the crime was committed through drink so no change there.
However, this book whetted my appetite to know more and I've now ordered the autobiography of Albert Pierrepoint to understand the man behind the executioner.

[Lucy]

if i wanted a list of people hanged, I'd just read a wiki article. would've been great to have had more info about the actual family and the social/cultural history of the day. and considering it was written in 2006, there's some very dated language in it. avoid.

[Robin]

This is hands-down the worst book I have ever read (and I have read some bad ones.) I bought this after seeing "Hangmen" on Broadway earlier this year and thought it would be interesting to know more about this odd collection of family members who were executioners. This book did not do that. You learn absolutely nothing about these men or their families other than the re-telling of some basic biographical facts. The book is just a diary of who they hung and what the crimes were. Furthermore, there were grammatical errors and other errors like mixing up the names.

[dave]

Really really good. The story of a family of hangmen, who over the decades they were employed must have racked up quite a body count. For those who like true crime, this is the book for you. Every paragraph is about a different criminal and why he or she has a date with a pierrepont. Some seriously gruesome tales, made all the more disturbing because they are true. Its a great book, i couldnt put it down.

[Paul]

Monotonous and Boring

Very interesting subject, but the book is essentially just a long and drawn out reading, of all the people the Pierrepoints hung and why.
The book doesn't go into detail about any other aspects of their lives or how the job may have affected them.
A slow boring read tbh.

[Rik]

Terrible book, gave up at around a third of the way....it's just a list. A few paragraphs summing up a crime, a few lines about the exectution and on to the next. Occassionaly a few sentence are thrown on about the personal circumstances of the Pierrepoint in question but it pretty much just a catalogue of the executions with nothing else. All the fun of a wikipedia page without the brevity!

[Reeta Toivanen]

This book could have been downloadable pdf list of the executions. Very little about the lives of the hangmen and no insights into them as people. Just listing the executions one after another. There’s more about the executed in the books than about the Pierrepoints.

[Bronwyn C Rideout]

A bit dry.

[Derek]

Although an interesting subject it’s essentially a long list of people hanged by the pierrpoints

[Amy Laura]

A chronological account of the Pierrepoint family. Lots of facts and back story. Thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend!

[Sallie White]

Absolutely fantatsic could not put this book down. One of the best books I've read this year. Very informative and extremely interesting.

[Craig Mccann]

Not really a book about the Pierrepoint family. More a chronological re-telling of the people they hanged.

[Tiffany Daniel]

Dry, but very interesting.

[Jo]

The story of the working lives of the three men of the Pierrepoint family who served as British hangmen in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Interesting to read about these men as most true crime focuses on the criminals/crimes and not this particular aspect. As one of the assistant hangmen lived and is now buried in my hometown, it held a slightly macabre interest for me. Especially as I've read his notes on the executions he did.

[Richard]

This read more like a text book than a modern-day biography. Interesting in parts but very repetitious, particularly describing the hanging process. For lovers of true crime, I think this would be a bit of a disappointment unless you are a real fanatic of hanging executions.

[Suzanne]

a fab book from our steve at bolton college.x

[Emma]

This read more like a book of lists which I guess could be considered comprehensive but read more like a chore.

[Matthew Green]

The constant descriptions of how they worked out the length of the hanging rope gets really repetitive after a while.

[Zoë]

To be honest lot o rubbish

[Angela]

I really quite enjoyed reading this book. It wasn't morbid or gruesome, just very interesting!

[Dave]

Have read a few times now