What do you think?
Rate this book
McNaughten
The government struggling to stand firm against the rising chaos. Out of this apocalyptic landscape emerges a young Scotsman, Daniel McNaughten. He has been on a journey, a descent into his own despair, mirroring the tribulations of society at large. His journey will end in London, with the death of an apparently innocent man. One freezing day in January, he takes a shot at the Prime Minister's Private Secretary, Edward Drummond, as he makes his way to Downing Street. The incident rocks the nation. Has the assassin perhaps mistaken Mr. Drummond for the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel? And who is this McNaughten? A dangerous political radical - possibly the agent of an entire network of revolutionaries - or a religious fanatic? Is he a lunatic, or merely a victim of the collective madness that surrounds him? Mesmerising, richly textured, McNaughten takes you to the heart of the Victorian soul. As Daniel McNaughten goes on trial, the dark forces lying beneath the surface of society threaten to break loose and overturn the very order of things. Suddenly, the nation's sanity seems to be hanging on the destiny of one hapless individual.
- GenresFiction
448 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
2 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Siân Busby
9 books10 followersSiân Elizabeth Busby (19 November 1960 – 4 September 2012) was a British writer.
The daughter of the Canadian actor Tom Busby and Wendy Russell, she was educated at Creighton School in Muswell Hill and read English at Sussex University.
Originally embarking in a career in arts television, she later switched to writing. Her first two books were non-fiction. A Wonderful Little Girl (2003) concerned a Welsh child whose apparent ability to survive without nourishment led doctors to term the condition anorexia while The Cruel Mother (2004) was a semi-autobiographical account of child murder by one of Busby's ancestors. McNaughten (2009) concerned a mentally unstable 19th century woodcutter who was accused of attempting to assassinate Sir Robert Peel. Daniel M'Naghten, a genuine historical figure, had instead shot and fatally injured Edward Drummond, Peel's private secretary. Significant in case law, the M'Naghten rules resulted from his acquittal at the subsequent trial.on the grounds of insanity. Another book Who Was Boudicca, Warror Queen (2006) was written for children.
Busby was diagnosed as suffering from lung cancer in 2007.[4]She had finished her last book, a novel A Commonplace Killing, shortly before she died from the disease. The book, describing the investigation into the murder of a woman in post-war London, was published in May 2013 and featured as BBC Radio Four's Book at Bedtime in June of the same year. Busby was married to Robert Peston, the BBC's business editor, with whom she had a son. Peston and Busby had known each other since their teens, and only rekindled their relationship after her friend, Peston's sister Juliet, was hospitalised after a road accident.[6] In the meantime, Busby had married and been divorced from the Dutch film maker Kees Ryninks, with whom she had a son.
The daughter of the Canadian actor Tom Busby and Wendy Russell, she was educated at Creighton School in Muswell Hill and read English at Sussex University.
Originally embarking in a career in arts television, she later switched to writing. Her first two books were non-fiction. A Wonderful Little Girl (2003) concerned a Welsh child whose apparent ability to survive without nourishment led doctors to term the condition anorexia while The Cruel Mother (2004) was a semi-autobiographical account of child murder by one of Busby's ancestors. McNaughten (2009) concerned a mentally unstable 19th century woodcutter who was accused of attempting to assassinate Sir Robert Peel. Daniel M'Naghten, a genuine historical figure, had instead shot and fatally injured Edward Drummond, Peel's private secretary. Significant in case law, the M'Naghten rules resulted from his acquittal at the subsequent trial.on the grounds of insanity. Another book Who Was Boudicca, Warror Queen (2006) was written for children.
Busby was diagnosed as suffering from lung cancer in 2007.[4]She had finished her last book, a novel A Commonplace Killing, shortly before she died from the disease. The book, describing the investigation into the murder of a woman in post-war London, was published in May 2013 and featured as BBC Radio Four's Book at Bedtime in June of the same year. Busby was married to Robert Peston, the BBC's business editor, with whom she had a son. Peston and Busby had known each other since their teens, and only rekindled their relationship after her friend, Peston's sister Juliet, was hospitalised after a road accident.[6] In the meantime, Busby had married and been divorced from the Dutch film maker Kees Ryninks, with whom she had a son.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 23, 2012
This is a fictional telling of a real event that introduced a change in English law that is still in use today. It took me a little while to get into this but I found it a very enjoyable mystery of sorts. Busby's prose was very Dickensian, evoking the voice of that era. Although I still can't say whether or not McNaughten was truly insane
December 9, 2020
Frankly, I found a lot of this book a slog, mainly due to its dense language. Struggled to around half way and then gave up. Except I woke up the next morning thinking about it, and so carried on. Never really flowed through it, and at times I just couldn't see the wood for the dense trees of words, but did finish it altho I still don't really know what I thought of it... hopeless review...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews