Liverpool Murders and Misdemeanours

This book brings to life a selection of the most notorious, and grimmest, murders and other crimes in and around Liverpool from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries.??The tales include ëFire in the Menagerieí, ëMurderous Propaganda Against Prostitutioní, ëHMS Thetis - A Floating Tombí, and ëThe Mass Graves of Old Swaní. Alongside these the author examines lesser-known cases such as ëThe Hope Street Bodysnatchersí, ëThe Telltale Broochí (the Liverpool pub landlady who was the main catalyst for the capture of Dr Crippen) and ëThe Prime Ministerís Assassiní - when Spencer Percival was murdered in the House of Commons by a disgruntled Liverpudlian civil servant. Unusual crimes also feature including ëThe Man in the Iron Coffiní, ëThe Cheapside Vampireí, and the family of extremely violent Victorian muggers, ëThe Murderous Mulveysí. The story continues into the early twentieth century with the Edwardian gangs of Liverpool (the original Teddy boys) and the ëTithebarn Street Outrageí.??The author also describes methods of punishing criminals in Liverpool through the ages and the role of the grisly Castle and Tower of Liverpool, where public hangings took place outside its walls and which became the disease-ridden town gaol in the nineteenth century. When the last hangings took place in Britain in the 1960s, one of them was carried out in Liverpool prison. This book will fascinate anyone with an interest in the history of crime, as well as those who want to know more about the story of Liverpool.