Lord High Executioner: An Unashamed Look at Hangmen, Headsmen, and Their Kind

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True tales of executioners culled from the annals of history Award-winning mystery writer Howard Engel traces the hangman's tradition from medieval England and early Canada to the present-day United States. From beheadings and hangings to the electric chair, Engel offers gritty details of the executioner's process, focusing on key players who epitomize both the exemplars and buffoons of the dark profession. Citing far-removed examples of past punishments, such as the French guillotine, Lord High Executioner addresses the implications history's lessons could have on modern-day criminal justice. Engel's studious research and great care toward bringing history's executioners to life make for a gripping learning experience and an enduring work of nonfiction.  Read more... Abstract: True tales of executioners culled from the annals of history Award-winning mystery writer Howard Engel traces the hangman's tradition from medieval England and early Canada to the present-day United States. From beheadings and hangings to the electric chair, Engel offers gritty details of the executioner's process, focusing on key players who epitomize both the exemplars and buffoons of the dark profession. Citing far-removed examples of past punishments, such as the French guillotine, Lord High Executioner addresses the implications history's lessons could have on modern-day criminal justice. Engel's studious research and great care toward bringing history's executioners to life make for a gripping learning experience and an enduring work of nonfiction Content: Cover Page -- Title Page -- Contents -- Introduction -- Chapter 1 Marking Out the Territory -- Chapter 2 The Road to Tyburn -- Chapter 3 The Ugliest of Trades: The Long-lived Bungler, William Calcraft -- Chapter 4 A Man of Science: William Marwood -- Chapter 5 The Reluctant Hangman: James Berry -- Chapter 6 Last of the Breed: The Billingtons, Ellis, and the Pierrepoints -- Chapter 7 Off with His Head -- Chapter 8 The Guillotine and Its Servants -- Chapter 9 Other Places of Execution -- Chapter 10 Hanging in Canada -- Chapter 11 The American Way of Death. Chapter 12 The Death House and Its Place in the American Dream -- Chapter 13 Death and the Maiden -- Chapter 14 Hangman's Pay -- Bibliography -- Index -- Acknowledgments -- Acknowledgment of Sources -- About the Author -- Copyright Page.