The Trial of Richard Patch. With Interesting Manuscript Commentary

Trial; Great Britain; Patch, Richard, Defendant

Publication Date: 1806

About this Item

London, 1806. Second ed. Edward Mangin's copy. With Interesting Manuscript Commentary by a Notable Irish Writer [Trial]. [Great Britain]. Patch, Richard, Defendant [c.1770-1806]. The Trial of Richard Patch, For the Wilful Murder of Mr. Isaac Blight, September 23, 1805, At Rotherhithe, In the County of Surry; Before the Right Hon. Sir A. Macdonald, Knt. Lord Chief Baron of His Majesty's Court of Exchequer; At the Sessions House, Newington; On Saturday, April 5, 1806. London: Printed, By the Express Appointment of the Sheriff, For Edward Jeffery, 1806. xvi, 194 pp. With 5 plates, including 3 portraits, a facsimile of a letter, and a folding illustration. Octavo (8-1/4" x 4-3/4"). Marbled wrappers. Light edgewear with slight chipping to top-edge and small tear to fore-edge of rear wrapper. Light toning to interior, light foxing in a few places. Ownership signature to head of title page of Edward Mangin, dated May 10, 1831, annotation in his hand to front free endpaper. An interesting association copy. $950. * Second edition. Patch, the eldest son of a smuggler, had been forced to mortgage his Exeter farm and subsequently fled to London in order to dodge his creditors. While there, he met Blight, a ship-breaker, who proposed that he become a partner in the business. Patch agreed, but lacked the money to pay for his share and killed Blight instead. In passing sentence, the judge told Patch: "you began this practice in fraud, continued it in ingratitude, and completed it by shedding the blood of your friend and benefactor." This item appears to have been extracted from a bound volume owned by Edward Mangin [1772-1852], an Irish writer, translator and cleric. The lengthy note to the front free endpaper concerns the case of Elizabeth Fenning, a domestic servant accused of murdering her employer whose trial and execution became a national cause celebre. Many believed Fenning innocent, among them Charles Dickens. Mangin remarks that Fenning was "the victim of the combined wickedness & obscenity of her prosecutors; [.] the brutality and filthy national prejudices of a rabble jury; and the infamous scribbling of a time-serving, prostitute villain, the editor of the Sunday Observer newspaper." The notes are likely based on a copy of The Important Results of an Elaborate Investigation into the Mysterious Case of Eliza Fenning (1815) and reference an article written b. Seller Inventory # 72852

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Trial of Richard Patch. With Interesting...

Publication Date: 1806

Binding: Soft cover

Illustrator: London, 1806. Second ed. Edward Mangin's copy.