Penguin Classic History S.
1 total work
Jack Sheppard, glamorous rebel, daring escapee and idol of the London mob, was one of the most legendary criminals of 18th-century England. When he finally met his end and was hanged in 1724, weeping girls and thronging crowds lined the road to the gallows at Tyburn. In uncovering Jack Sheppard's enthralling story, lively and prolific historian Christopher Hibbert has drawn on contemporary newspapers, pamphlets and trial reports. He reveals a wild, dissolute, extravagant character, who, although he drank to excess, frequented the beds of prostitutes and was the "greatest prison breaker in the annals of this country", also proved to be a man of great intelligence, wit and charm. Yet this is more than the story of one individual. It also takes us on a fascinating tour through the murky underworld of 18th-century London: a grim jungle of brothels, gin cellars, gaming dens and doss-houses. We are introduced to a rogues' gallery of drunkards, pickpockets, kidnappers and murderers as well as the most notorious characters of the time, including corrupt City Marshal Charles Hitchen and machiavellian thief-taker Jonathan Wild.