THE SWAMP OF DEATH A True Tale of Victorian Lies and Murder

Hardback. On February 5, 1890 three houng gentlemen set out from England for the backwoods of Canada, each hoping to make his fortune. Within days, one was dead and the other two had been arrested for murder. The age of mass media was just taking hold, and the newspapers - with the submarine telegraph at their disposal - turned the case into an international cause celebre. The crime itself, a corrupt investigation and the tainted trial that followed enthralled a vast, sensation-hungry public, but despite far-reaching scrutiny, some essential questions remained unanswered. Who was the real murderer? Was the killing premeditated? And what was the ultimate motive? The author has used letters, press reports and memoirs to piece together a tale as vivid and gripping as the best murder mysteries of Victorian fiction. Featuring (John) Reginald Birchall. Illus. + Map and Notes on Sources. 378pp. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. F. in F. dw.