A Grim Almanac of Oxfordshire
A Grim Almanac of Oxfordshire

Author: Nicola Sly

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2013-02-01

Total Pages: 348

ISBN-13: 0752489348

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A Grim Almanac of Oxfordshire is a day-by-day catalogue of 366 ghastly tales from the county's past. There are murders and manslaughters, including the killing by Mrs Barber of her entire family in 1909 while temporarily insane, and the brutal murder of four-year-old Edward Busby in 1871, killed by his mother to prevent his father ill-treating him. There are bizarre deaths, including those of four-year-old Charles Taylor, who was accidentally kicked clean through a top storey window in 1844 by a child playing on a swing, George Sheppard, who was struck by a cricket ball during a match in 1905, and of the vicar of Bucknell, who starved himself to death in 1935. There is an assortment of calamities which include strange and unusual crimes, devastating fires, rail crashes, explosions, disasters, mysteries, freak weather and a plethora of uncanny accidents. Generously illustrated, this chronicle is an entertaining and readable record of Oxfordshire's grim past. Delve into the dreadful deeds of Oxford's past, if you dare...

A Grim Almanac of Oxfordshire
A Grim Almanac of Oxfordshire

Author: Nicola Sly

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2013-02-01

Total Pages: 342

ISBN-13: 0752489348

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A Grim Almanac of Oxfordshire is a day-by-day catalogue of 366 ghastly tales from the county’s past.There are murders and manslaughters, including the killing by Mrs Barber of her entire family in 1909 while temporarily insane, and the brutal murder of four-year-old Edward Busby in 1871, killed by his mother to prevent his father ill-treating him. There are bizarre deaths, including those of four-year-old Charles Taylor, who was accidentally kicked clean through a top storey window in 1844 by a child playing on a swing, George Sheppard, who was struck by a cricket ball during a match in 1905, and of the vicar of Bucknell, who starved himself to death in 1935.There is an assortment of calamities which include strange and unusual crimes, devastating fires, rail crashes, explosions, disasters, mysteries, freak weather and a plethora of uncanny accidents.Generously illustrated, this chronicle is an entertaining and readable record of Oxfordshire’s grim past. Delve into the dreadful deeds of Oxford’s past, if you dare...

A Grim Almanac of Leicestershire
A Grim Almanac of Leicestershire

Author: Nicola Sly

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2013-05-01

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 0752489488

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A Grim Almanac of Leicestershire is a day-by-day catalogue of 366 macabre moments from the county's past. Featured here are such diverse tales as mining disasters, freak weather conditions, industrial catastrophes, train crashes and tragic accidents, including the Oadby woman who was killed by a wasp sting in 1925 and Dorothy Cain, who performed her first ever parachute jump in 1926 — without her parachute. Among the murders detailed in this volume are the assisted suicide of the vicar of Hungerton in 1925, and the unsolved 'Green Bicycle Murder' of 1919 at Little Stretton. Generously illustrated with 100 pictures, this chronicle is an entertaining and readable record of Leicestershire's grim past. Read on... if you dare!

A Grim Almanac of the Black Country
A Grim Almanac of the Black Country

Author: Nicola Sly

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2013-01-01

Total Pages: 363

ISBN-13: 0752489526

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A Grim Almanac of the Black Country is a day-by-day catalogue of 366 ghastly tales from around the area. Full of dreadful deeds, strange disappearances and a multitude of mysteries, this almanac explores the darker side of the Black Country's past. Here are stories of tragedy, torment and the truly unfortunate with diverse tales of mining disasters, freak weather, bizarre deaths and tragic accidents, including the gunpowder explosion at a factory in Tipton which claimed nineteen lives in 1922. Also featured is the corpse in West Bromwich that was twice wrongly identified in 1929, the collapse of a concert hall roof in Walsall in 1921, and the two labourers buried in molten glass near Stourbridge in 1893. All these, plus tales of fires, catastrophes, mysteries and executions, are here. Generously illustrated, this chronicle is an entertaining and readable record of the Black Country's grim past. Read on ... if you dare!

Channel Island Murders
Channel Island Murders

Author: Nicola Sly

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2013-05-15

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 0752493833

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Although an idyllic setting, where violent crime is thankfully rare, the Channel Islands have a shadier side. Contained within the pages of this book are twenty-five historic cases of murder committed in the Channel Islands. They include a fatal assault on John Francis in 1894, which remains unsolved; the murder by Philippe Jolin of his father in 1829; and the murder and suicide committed by Eugenie Toupin in 1881, all of which occurred in Jersey. In Guernsey, elderly widow Elizabeth Saujon was murdered during the course of a robbery in 1853, Edward Hooper drunkenly beat his wife to death in 1890, and housekeeper Elizabeth de la Mare murdered her elderly employer in 1935, wanting to hasten his demise on the understanding that she was the sole beneficiary of his will.Nicola Sly’s carefully researched and enthralling text will appeal to everyone interested in true crime and the shady side of Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney’s history.

In Hot Blood
In Hot Blood

Author: Nicola Sly

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2013-11-01

Total Pages: 365

ISBN-13: 0752492217

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This chilling compendium of historic crimes features 28 cases that shocked the nation during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Among the cases featured here are the shooting of Bessie Cross, after she fell pregnant while her husband was away serving his country in 1917, and the 1869 murders of Maria Death and her alleged lover by Maria's partner, Frederick Hinson. It also recalls the tragic stories of Elvira Barney and Ruth Ellis, who shot and killed their lovers in 1932 and 1955 respectively, with very different consequences. Along with the most notorious cases, this book also features many that did not make national headlines, examining not only the methods and motives but also the real stories of the perpetrators and their victims. This book is a must for true-crime fans everywhere.

A Grim Almanac of Herefordshire
A Grim Almanac of Herefordshire

Author: Nicola Sly

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2012-01-31

Total Pages: 372

ISBN-13: 075248219X

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A Grim Almanac of Herefordshire is a day-by-day catalogue of 365 ghastly tales from around the county. Full of dreadful deeds, strange disappearances and a multitude of mysteries, this almanac explores the darker side of Herefordshire's past. Here are stories of tragedy, torment and the truly unfortunate with diverse tales of murderers, bodysnatchers, duelists, poachers, rioters and rebels. Joining them are accounts of tragic suicides, accidents and bizarre deaths, including William Prosser, who died in Clodock in 1893 as the result of a practical joke; the farmer bitten to death by his horse in 1887; and the young man from Colwall who allegedly sat on a spike. Also here is the case of a Yorkshire tramp, whose body was found in Weobley in 1894, and the murders and suicide of Charles Hankins and his two young children in Ledbury in 1896. Some killers were lucky to get away with charges of manslaughter, such as Thomas Carlyle, who shot a coachman near Leominster in 1871, and George Hatton, who rid himself of a nagging wife near Ross in 1893. All these, plus tales of fires, catastrophes, explosions and disasters, are here. Generously illustrated, this chronicle is an entertaining and readable record of Herefordshire's grim past. Read on... if you dare!

Murder at the Inn
Murder at the Inn

Author: James Moore

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2015-02-02

Total Pages: 281

ISBN-13: 0750963336

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In which pub was the notorious murder that led to the Kray twins becoming Britain's most feared gangsters? Where is the hostelry in which Jack the Ripper's victims drank? How did Burke and Hare befriend their victims in a Scottish watering hole before luring them to their deaths? What is the name of the pub where the Lord Lucan mystery first came to light? And how did a pub become the scene of the murder that led to Ruth Ellis going to the gallows? For centuries, the history of beer and pubs has gone hand in hand with some of the nation's most despicable and fascinating crimes. Packed with grizzly murders – including fascinating little-known cases – as well as sinister stories of smuggling, robbery and sexual intrigue, Murder at the Inn is a treasure trove of dark tales linked to the best drinking haunts and historic hotels across the land.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature
The Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature

Author: David Scott Kastan

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2006-03-03

Total Pages: 2656

ISBN-13: 0199725314

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From folk ballads to film scripts, this new five-volume encyclopedia covers the entire history of British literature from the seventh century to the present, focusing on the writers and the major texts of what are now the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. In five hundred substantial essays written by major scholars, the Encyclopedia of British Literature includes biographies of nearly four hundred individual authors and a hundred topical essays with detailed analyses of particular themes, movements, genres, and institutions whose impact upon the writing or the reading of literature was significant. An ideal companion to The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature, this set will prove invaluable for students, scholars, and general readers. For more information, including a complete table of contents and list of contributors, please visit www.oup.com/us/ebl

Cambridge Student Pranks
Cambridge Student Pranks

Author: Jamie Collinson

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2010-11-16

Total Pages: 147

ISBN-13: 075095406X

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Cambridge University is famed for the resourcefulness and innovation of its students. However, not all the undergraduates have devoted their talents to academia; instead they spent their time devising ingenious and hilarious pranks to play on the unsuspecting dons. This fascinating volume recalls some of the greatest stunts and practical jokes in the University’s history, including: the story of how a group of students fooled the art world with their Post-Impressionist exhibition; the Zanzibar hoax, in which members of the famous Bloomsbury set conned the Mayor of Cambridge (a hoax which sowed the seeds for their later ‘VIP inspection' of HMS Dreadnought which duped the Royal Navy); and of course the most famous prank of all – the Austin Seven on the roof of Senate House. This enthralling work will amaze and entertain in equal measure — and may well prove a source of inspiration for current students wishing to enliven their undergraduate days.