The Lives & Exploits of the Most Noted Highwaymen, Rogues and Murderers

Stephen Basdeo

• Publisher: Pen & Sword History
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN:
  9781526713186
• Print ISBN:
  9781526713162

A fascinating historical survey of the world's most infamous outlaws.
 
For as long as human societies have existed there have always been people who have transgressed the laws of their respective societies. It seems that whenever new laws are made, certain people find ways to break them.
 
This book will introduce you to some of the most notorious figures, from all parts of the world, who have committed heinous crimes such as highway robbery, murder, and forgery. Beginning with Bulla Felix, the Roman highwayman, this book traces the careers of medieval outlaws such as Robin Hood and Adam Bell. Early modern murderers also make an appearance, such as Sawney Beane, whose story inspired the cult horror movie The Hills Have Eyes. Learn also about the crimes and daring escapes of Jack Sheppard, an eighteenth-century criminal who escaped from prison on several occasions, and find out if the "gentlemanly" highwayman Dick Turpin was truly a gentleman.
 
This book also includes an appendix of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century thieves' cant, as well as several historical poems, songs, and ballads relating to the subjects discussed, and the work is prefaced with an essay highlighting the significance of crime literature throughout history.
 

Table of contents

• Cover
• Dedication
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Chapter 1: Robin Hood: ‘That Celebrated English Outlaw’
• Chapter 2: Adam Bell, Clim of the Clough, and William of Cloudeslie
• Chapter 3: Gamaliel Ratsey: The Repentant Highwayman
• Chapter 4: Captain James Hind: The Royalist Highwayman
• Chapter 5: Claude Du Vall: The Ladies’ Highwayman
• Chapter 6: Sawney Beane: ‘A Picture of Human Barbarity’
• Chapter 7: Rob Roy: ‘The Highland Rogue’
• Chapter 8: Jack Sheppard: The Original ‘Jack the Lad’
• Chapter 9: Jonathan Wild: London’s First Mob Boss
• Chapter 10: Dick Turpin: The Knight of the Road
• Chapter 11: Dr William Dodd: The Rogue Clergyman
• Conclusion
• Appendix: Bulla Felix: The Roman Robin Hood
• Further Reading
• Notes
• Plate Section