Dick Turpin

1705–1739

Dick Turpin was an English criminal whose career included deer stealing, burglary, horse theft and highway robbery. Born in Essex in 1705, he became associated with the Essex Gang and later operated under assumed names. After fleeing to Yorkshire as John Palmer, he was exposed through a letter recognised by a former schoolmaster and convicted chiefly for horse theft rather than the legendary rides attached to his name.

Turpin was hanged at York on 7 April 1739. Nineteenth-century novels, penny publications and stage works transformed him into a gallant highwayman, especially through the invented ride to York on the mare Black Bess. Historical fiction therefore works with two figures: the documented violent criminal and the later popular hero whose wit, horsemanship and defiance became more famous than the surviving evidence.

Series

Historical novels and book series featuring Dick Turpin (2 series)

Dick Turpin in Order

by Richard Foreman 4 books 4.3(126)

The Dick Turpin series reimagines the historical highwayman as an ambitious Georgian criminal moving between roads, taverns, theatres and aristocratic houses. Turpin confronts an assassin, a rival outlaw and the temptation of a celebrated jewel before the final story collection tests the reputation he has created. Each adventure…

All books in this series

1. Turpin’s Assassin

4.1(50)

2. Turpin’s Rival

4.6(33)

3. Turpin’s Prize

4.3(23)

4. Turpin’s Tales

4.0(20)

Historical Heroes in Order

by Richard Foreman 3 books 4.2(37)

Historical Heroes is a three-volume collection of shorter fiction drawn from Foreman’s recurring worlds. Roman soldiers and spies appear beside a crusading knight, Dick Turpin, Raffles and the Hollywood screenwriter Pat Hobby. The books are not a continuous narrative; they are curated introductions to characters whose longer adventures…