Tales from the Hanging Court

From everyday customs to violent transgression, Tales from the Hanging Court paints a fascinating and vivid picture of what it was like to live in London 200 years ago, from the dark alleys to the glittering thoroughfares.

Drawing on the Old Baily archives from 1674-1834, the authors recreate the real-life and death dramas on which Defoe, Fielding, and Dickens based their novels. They uncover the traditions--and aberrations--that colored daily life in a society where it was easier to witness an execution than to attend the theater.