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Dungeons, Gallows and Severed Heads of London (Of London Series)
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Product Description
Why was beheading the punishment of choice for royalty - and was Henry VIII addicted to it? With some famous victims - Anne Boleyn, Charles I, William Wallace - and some famous places - The Tower, Newgate Prison - this book immerses you in the history of London's crime and punishment. Ages 8-14.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #1069577 in Books
- Published on: 2002-04-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 96 pages
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Travis Elborough is a freelance writer and lives in North London. He likes playing table football but hates pasta.
Excerpted from Dungeons, Gallows and Severed Heads of London by Travis Elborough. Copyright © 2002. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
For hundreds of years London wasn’t only England’s capital city - it was the city of capital punishment! Being locked up or having your head lopped off was once part of everyday life in Old London Town- just like overcrowded tubes are today (and only slightly more unpleasant!)
Most of tourist hotspots tend to look at the nice buildings, pretty statues and the magnificent museums. In this book we’ll be exploring the nastier side of the city’s history. We’ll take a peek at the hideous dungeons that lurked beneath the ground. We’ll go in search of the grim gallows and gruesome gaols that used to dominate the city. We’ll meet murderous monarchs, cruel killers and vicious villains. We’ll discover rotten rules and painful punishments and come face to face with severed heads and horrible hangings.
Old London’s narrow streets teemed with dark deeds and bloody murders. Until the 1700s there wasn’t even a police force to protect the city. Londoners were guarded by local watchmen- a bit like today’s Neighbourhood Watch schemes but a million times more hopeless. Crooks had little to fear from them but if they were caught they faced brutal punishments or death. Justice really was rough. If the city was a dangerous place, the royal palaces were hardly safer. For centuries England’s Kings and Queens could execute almost anyone who annoyed and, as we shall see, they really were a bloody bunch.
