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Gallows Thief

by Bernard Cornwell

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4.2(3,258)

In 1817, former army officer Rider Sandman is asked to investigate the conviction of a young man due to be hanged for murder. The evidence appears straightforward, but Sandman’s inquiries expose unreliable witnesses, class prejudice and institutional pressure to preserve a verdict.

Moving through Regency London’s taverns, prisons, theatres and criminal courts, Sandman confronts a justice system in which execution is common and investigation is rudimentary. The novel combines a murder inquiry with a portrait of the Bloody Code and the social divisions of post-Napoleonic Britain.

Historical Periods

Regency Era1811–1820 CE Georgian London1714–1837 CE Georgian Crime and the Bloody Code1714–1837 CE

Genres

Crime & Mystery

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