DUEL A True Story of Death and Honour

Harback. In 1826 a merchant called David Landale shot his bank manager dead in a duel. Two centuries later, one of his descendants, James Landale, explains why two rational, educated men might choose to resolve a dispute by shooting at one another. Using newly discovered archives, the author reconstructs in vivid detail both the encounter and the circumstances surrounding it. The author also tells the story of duelling itself, explaining where this extraordinary phenomenon came from, and why, in the middle of the 19th century, it suddenly lost its social legitimacy. An utterly engrossing narrative that explains to a modern reader why this curious thing, called honour drove so many young men to an early death. Illus. in colour, Epilogue, Sources and Index. 304pp. 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. F. in F. dw.