Dick Turpin: The Myth Of The English Highwayman

As Dick Turpin went to the scaffold in York in 1739 he was determined to look his best. The previous day he had a new frock coat and pumps delivered to him in the condemned man's cell in York Castle Prison. And he paid 3 Ýpound¨ and 10 shillings for five men to act as mourners.In this biography of one of Britain's best-known villains, James Sharpe examines the cult of the highwayman, how crime developed in the eighteenth century, and the treatment of criminals in those days. In the absence of any police force how were crimes solved? Did the criminals get a fair trial? Was there a criminal underclass and did people really live in terror of going on the roads at night? Looking at the underbelly of society and the nastier aspects of life that many historians ignore, James Sharpe creates a vivid picture of life in eighteenth-century Britain.