Famous Last Words: Confessions, Humour and Bravery of the Departing

by Chris Wood

Nothing focuses the mind more starkly than impending death. Its inevitable spectre greets us all; from princes to paupers and nobility to the needy. Prepare to mount the scaffold and share in the final utterings of the condemned; join the stricken in their death beds and witness unburdened tongues wag their closing, and often remarkable confessions as deeply entrenched secrets are finally unshackled in the wake of imminent death.

Famous Last Words collects a fascinating selection of destinies culminating in their often flamboyant yet always captivating, final utterances before shuffling off this mortal coil.

Revealed inside are tales of sangfroid bravery, astonishing ironies and overdue confessions often betraying grave miscarriages of justice, throughout British history.

Revealed inside are tales of sangfroid bravery, astonishing ironies and overdue confessions often betraying grave miscarriages of justice throughout British history.

Writer and poet Sir Walter Raleigh had some typically forthright and urging words for his executioner as the hesitant axeman displayed fear and reluctance to perform his stately duties. Having felt the sharp edge of the tool that would presently be rained down upon him, rather than fearing his impending doom, Raleigh would offer goading encouragement to his maker.

Were the final words of convicted murderer Ernest Brown a candid confession to another killing he had committed deep in the Northumberland Moors some two years previously which had lay unsolved?

And what of Britain's first actor to have had a knighthood bestowed upon him? Learn of the staggering irony that saw his final words on stage prophetically turn out to be his last in life...

• ISBN10: 152677089X
• ISBN13: 9781526770899
• Publish Date: 21 May 2021
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd
• Imprint: Pen & Sword History
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 216
• Language: English

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Famous Last Words is a well written series of short biographies (and the end of the lives of the subjects) written and presented by Chris Wood. Due out 30th June 2021 from Pen & Sword, it's 216 pages and will be available in paperback format.

This is a fascinating account of the deaths of 23 historical figures. They range from the very well known (Lady Jane Grey, William Burke) to the previously unfamiliar (to me). The accounts are written simply and engagingly in plain language. Despite the often gruesome nature of the murders, poisonings, and other crimes which led directly to the executions, the descriptions are neither too graphic nor disturbing (most of them happened many many years ago and have lost the immediacy of horror). They're not all executions, several are related stories from the deaths of non-criminals (Liam Whelan, Sir Henry Irving).

The author has included a number of illustrations from extant historical records, drawings, and some photographs. There are no annotations or bibliography included in the advance copy I received for review which are listed in the table of contents and will be included in the final release version. Ditto the index which will be available in the final release copy.

This would be a good selection for library acquisition, or for history fans. It would also be a good choice for true crime fans.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.