EXECUTIONER The Chronicles of James Berry, Victorian Hangman (SIGNED)

Hardback. SIGNED. James Berry, a dour and somewhat pious ex-policeman who hailed from Yorkshire was Britain's hangman from 1884 to 1892, (during the latter half of Queen Victoria's reign and throughout the period of the Whitechapel murders). A man of strange contradictions - capable of cold callous detachment but so affected by his job that he was often unable to speak before an execution. Aiming to be both efficient and merciful he worked to a table of drops of his own creation. Unfortunately this did not prevent a few horrific incidents. The most notable was the execution of Robert Goodale who was decapitated by the force of the drop. In contrast, in the famous case of John Lee, Berry was unable to open the gallows trap. After 3 attempts - during which the gallows trap worked perfectly when Lee was removed - Lee was reprieved. During his 8yrs. as hangman, Berry executed over 130 men and women - and even claimed to have hanged Jack the Ripper. In this richly detailed and sympathetic biography, by a fellow ex-policeman, based on previously unpublished material, the reader is taken into the world of Victorian crime and punishment in the Victorian era by an excellent crime historian. Illus., Appendices, Bibliog. and Index. 356pp. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true-crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. With tipped-in label SIGNED BY STEWART P. EVANS. With the usual v. lightly browned pp. o/w Nr. F. in F. dw.