THE HAY POISONER Herbert Rowse Armstrong

Softcover. First pub. 1995 in the UK as 'Dead Not Buried'. Foreword by Prof. Bernard Knight. Major Herbert Rowse Armstrong was accused of poisoning his wife with arsenic and after a sensational trial was found guilty and executed in 1922, the only solicitor to be hanged. For 70yrs the verdict was never publicly questioned despite Major Armstrong's unceasing protestations of innocence, the desperate efforts made by the defence and, most importantly, the purely circumstantial nature of the prosecution case. According to the author : 'Even worse, the Attorney General prosecuted dishonestly, the DPP having wrongfully influenced his medical team which included the legendary Sir Bernard Spilsbury (anything but the alleged expert on poison cases). Then, too, there was the hanging judge, Justice Darling, truly a disgrace to the High Court bench and whose judgement would never have been allowed to stand today.' Now the author, himself a solicitor, reveals through his detailed examination not only of the actual defence papers but also of the original DPP file closed under the 75-year rule and the trial itself, an extraordinary plot by a man who, driven by intolerable pressures, contrived the state execution of Major Armstrong. By one of the many coincidences which are a feature of this case, the author lived in Armstrong's house, practised in Armstrong's old office and once lived in the houses where the inquest and autopsy into Mrs Armstrong's death was held. The author had the blessing of Major Armstrong's surviving daughter who, like the author, was determined that the inaccuracies of previous accounts, including the TV production 'Dandelion Dead', were refuted and the truth revealed about the murderer who used the state to carry out the act itself and hang an innocent man. Illus., Epilogue, References, Bibliog. and Index. 254pp. trade size soft cover. Made into a Chanel 4 Documentary, and winner of the Gold Dagger Award. From the library of Paul Daniel, ex-editor of the 'Ripperologist' magazine (December 1996 No. 8 - February 2000 No. 27) with his name rubber stamp, and date in green felt-tip to inside back cover. Vg. no creasing to covers, just a little shelf-wear.