Strange, Inhuman Deaths: Murder in Tudor England

In 1573 there occurred a murder which would leave today's tabloid editors salivating enviously. George Saunders, a respected merchant tailor, was killed by his wife's lover. Involved in the conspiracy were Saunder's wife, her best friend and a servant. All were found guilty and hanged, but not before a suspended clergyman fell in love with Mrs Saunders and sought to have her pardoned.

Murder was relatively rare in Tudor times. When it did occur, especially if it involved a female perpetrator and a love affair, it generated widespread interest. The Saunders murder, like several others, inspired numerous pamphlets and even a successful play: A Warning for Fair Woman. The rise of Protestantism, and its accompanying rise in literacy, had provided a strong impetus to read about crime and to ponder the spiritual consequences of breaking both the civil and divine law. The Tudors were also greatly interested in the discovery of murder by human agency. The English system of criminal justice was open and popular, and familiar elements-detection, investigation, the laying of charges, the trial, verdict, sentence-were all well understood and closely followed in the sixteenth century.

In this fascinating book John Bellamy examines the trends in murder literature during the Tudor period and describes four well-documented cases that occurred between 1538 and 1573. Drawing on legal records, pamphlets, plays and cronicles, he provides a rich background for the powerful and lively human stories which emerge. Murder most foul, murder most English-the tradition begins here.