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The Life and Crimes of Victorian England's Most Notorious Doctor
by Stephen Bates
In 1856, a baying crowd of over 30,000 people gathered outside Stafford prison to watch the hanging of Dr. William Palmer, "the greatest villain that ever stood in the Old Bailey" as Charles Dickens once called him. Palmer was convicted of poisoning and suspected in the murders of dozens of others, including his best friend, his wife, and his mother-in-law - and cashing in on their insurance to fuel his worsening gambling addiction.
Highlighting his gruesome penchant for strychnine, the trial made news across both the Old World and the New. Palmer gripped readers not only in Britain - Queen Victoria wrote of "that horrible Palmer" in her journal - but also was a different sort of murderer than the public had come to fear - respectable, middle class, personable - and consequently more terrifying. But as the gallows door dropped, one question still gnawed at many who knew the case: Was Palmer truly guilty?
The first major retelling of William Palmer's story in over sixty years, The Poisoner takes a fresh look at the infamous doctor's life and disputed crimes. Using previously undiscovered letters from Palmer and new forensic examination of his victims, journalist Stephen Bates presents not only an astonishing and controversial revision of Palmer's life but takes the reader into the very psyche of a killer.
Sprightly look at the parochial mid-19th-century England that produced an infamous serial poisoner." - Kirkus
"The Poisoner is meticulously researched, cleverly written, and, even better, a wonderfully entertaining read." - Judith Flanders, author of The Invention of Murder: How Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime
"A remarkable achievement...Vivid, eloquent, and vital." - Observer
"I could not wait for this book to come out, and it doesn't disappoint." - The Times
"An essential read." - Guardian
"The Poisoner is meticulously researched, cleverly written, and, even better, a wonderfully entertaining read." - Judith Flanders, author of The Invention of Murder
This information about The Poisoner was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Stephen Bates is a journalist who has written for the BBC, Daily Telegraph Daily Mail, and for the last twenty years, the Guardian. He lives in Kent, England.
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