In the original dustsheet. Black cloth binding with gilt title on the spine.

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In Lord High Executioner, Howard Engel produces a wonderfully wise and witty social history of the men and women who represent our agents of death, and who have done our dirty work over the centuries.

Review: To put it quickly, this book is a good starting point to learn about the history of capital punishment, but by no means a finishing point. I knew a bare minimum about the history of executioners when I started reading this for research, and I definitely learned a lot. The author tells us about hangmen, headsmen, electric chairmen and guillotiners – from Europe to America, through the middle ages up to the present day. He tells us not only about the tiny details of how they approached their work, but also about individual hangmen as people, and how the position of ‘executioner’ was seen in society.

However – inevitably, I guess – there are holes. Whilst he describes the anonymous James Berry in great detail, he provides only a sketchy outline of the infamous Richard Jacquett – the original “Jack Ketch”. I learnt tonnes of interesting information, but I still have many unanswered questions. That’s the reason I’m giving it 3 instead of 4 or 5 stars, because the quality of material he DOES provide is definitely 5 star. So, in short, if you’re researching the history of execution, definitely buy this book – but be prepared to need other books as well.

What is the meaning of Lord High Executioner?

The Lord High Executioner is the head of the prison tower that was originally a walled fort built by Romans where prisoners were cruelly treated. Some of these prisoners were imprisoned for just being unable to pay their taxes. The Lord High Executioner was always ready to do away with whomever was sentenced to death.