Lee John Told by Himself (3 results)

Soft cover. Condition: Poor. 1st Edition. 112pp. paper wraps. WEar to spine, particulary at base. Wear to covers & ppage edges. Pages age toned, and are fragile and worn.

Softcover / Paperback. Condition: Very Good. First edition. Softcover. No 5 in the Mellifont series. John Lee, a lad of 20, was a servant in the employment of Miss Keyes, at Babbacombe, in Devon. On an autumn night in 1884, the house was found to be on fire, and on a search being made, Miss Keyes was found dead with her throat cut and her head battered in. John Lee was the only man in the house, and the circumstantial evidence of his guilt was very strong : at least strong enough to compel a jury to bring him in guilty of murder. He was duly sentenced to death, and placed, manacled and blindfolded, on the scaffold for execution. The lever was pulled and the drop fell, but only about 2 inches and then stuck. Frantically the warders stamped on the sides of the drop to free it, but it was no good, and Lee had to be taken off while the mechanism was made good and tested. This was done, and he was again placed on the scaffold, with the same result. Three times he went through this ghastly ordeal with always the same result. Finally, his sentence commuted, Lee served 22yrs in prison, all the while protesting his innocence. Illus. 112pp. trade size softcover paper wraps. The sl. larger 1st edn. was published at 3d., the smaller reprint was published at 9d. With the usual browned pp., sl. damage to top r/h corner of fr. cover and top l/h corner of back cover (see images) o/w Vg. Scarce.…

Softcover / Paperback. Condition: Fair. First edition. Softcover. No date, but c. 1908. John Lee, a 19yr old servant, became a legend after surviving 3 attempts to hang him following a conviction for murder. Lee was a footman to Emma Keyse, an elderly and wealthy spinster who had been a maid to Queen Victoria. On November 15, 1884 she was found dead, with her throat cut and head injuries, in the dining-room, which was also on fire. Circumstantial evidence pointed to Lee, who had served sentence for theft, and it was thought he had been angered by his employee's meanness in reducing his already poor wage because of some trivial offence. Lee was tried and convicted for murder and received the death sentence. James Berry, who was the hangman, placed the hood and then the noose over the condemned man's head and pulled the lever - nothing happened. Lee was removed, the apparatus checked and tested with weights - it worked perfectly. Lee was replaced, twice more, but to the horror of all present, the trap still refused to budge. John Lee was returned to his cell and reprieved within hours. He spent 22yrs in prison, and was released on December 17, 1907, still declaring his innocence. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. Illus. 112pp. paper wraps. Paper tape used to reinforce sp. which wraps round to both fr. and back covers, which are fragile and worn, as can be seen from the images. Contents are perfectly ok. Rare.…