Murder in the First-Class Carriage: The First Victorian Railway Killing - Hardcover

Colquhoun, Kate

3.54

1,116 ratings by Goodreads

9781590206751: Murder in the First-Class Carriage: The First Victorian Railway Killing

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1590206754 ISBN 13: 9781590206751

Publisher: Overlook Pr, 2011

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He boarded a first-class carriage on the 9:45 pm Hackney service of the North London railway. At Hackney, two bank clerks discovered blood in the seat cushions as well as on the floor, windows, and sides of the carriage. A bloodstained hat was found on the seat along with a broken link from a watch chain. The race to identify the killer and catch him as he fled on a boat to America was eagerly followed by the public on both sides of the Atlantic. Kate Colquhoun tells a gripping tale of a crime that shocked the era.

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Product Description:

On 9 July 1864, Thomas Briggs boarded the 9.45pm from Fenchurch Street, bound for Chalk Farm. Ten minutes later at Hackney Wick, all that remained of Mr Briggs was a lot of blood, his empty leather bag and ivory-topped cane and somebody else's hat. It was Britain's first railway murder and the public were gripped by this 'terrible drama of real life'. Evoking its Victorian setting, this book is an enthralling retelling of the crime and the hunt for the killer. Previously in Postscript as Mr Briggs's Hat.

Review:

Praise for "A Thing in Disguise:

"If a better biography was published this year, I didn't read it." --"The Sunday Telegraph" (A Best Book of the Year)

"Her research establishes Paxton alongside Brunel as one of the most influential designers of Victorian Britain." --Miranda Seymour, "The Sunday Times" (A Best Book of the Year)
Praise for "A Murder in the First-Class Carriage"
"The author's suspenseful writing style and clear prose make the tale easy to read . . . Colquhoun expertly places the murder within the larger context of British, Continental European and American history . . . Colquhoun successfully balances suspense with historical accuracy." -- "Kirkus"
"Colquhoun's narrative will appeal to British, rail, and legal historians. She does an excellent job of describing the case and the times. Highly recommended." -- "Library Journal"
"Deploying her skill as a historian, Colquhoun turns a single curious murder case into a fascinatingly quirky portrait of the underside of mid-Victorian London. I found it unputdownable." --"Daily Telegraph"
"[A] thrilling book, which reads at times like a good Victorian novel . . . an utterly compelling did-he-do-it." --"The Sunday Times"
"An enthralling account of a real life mystery . . . Her well-told tale would stand up in co

"Deploying her skill as a historian, Colquhoun turns a single curious murder case into a fascinatingly quirky portrait of the underside of mid- Victorian London. I found it unputdownable."---"Daily Telegraph"

"The author''s suspenseful writing style and clear prose make the tale easy to read . . . Colquhoun expertly places the murder within the larger context of British, Continental European and American history . . . Colquhoun successfully balances suspense with historical accuracy."---"Kirkus"

"[A] thrilling book, which reads at times like a good Victorian novel . . . an utterly compelling did-he-do-it."---"The Sunday Times"

"Kate Colquhoun is a fine, robust writer who makes the most of its every twist and turn."---"The Mail on Sunday"

"The re-telling of this true story pits justice against baying-for-blood hysteria in a sensationally episodic tale that is every bit as compelling as it must have been when it happened."---"Easy Living"

"A thrilling book, which reads at times like a good Victorian novelsan utterly compelling did-he-do-it."---"Sunday Times"

"Enthralling. . . . A fascinatingly quirky portrait of the underside of mid-Victorian London. I found it unputdownable."---- Miranda Seymour, "The Telegraph"

"More than a well-spun tale of searching for justice amid hype, "Murder in the First-Class Carriage" reveals the underside of Victorian life, where interest in the macabre flourished alongside the propriety modern readers may expect. Fans of true crime and the general reader alike will appreciate Colquhuon's talent for enlivening facts with everyday moments. The story is especially noteworthy for its balance between the case itself and the atmospheric, gas-lit city in which it occurred."---"Foreword Reviews"

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