Liverpool Murders & Misdemeanours

This book brings to life a selection of the most notorious and grimmest murders and other crimes in and around Liverpool from the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. The tales include the Maybrick murder case—when Florence Maybrick poisoned her unpleasant husband, James, now believed by many to have been Jack the Ripper—as well as "The Cameo Cinema Murder," "The Man from the “Pru," and the Liverpool "Black Widows." Alongside these, author examines lesser-known cases such as "The Hope Street Body Snatchers," "The Wrong Brooch" (the Liverpool pub landlady who was the main catalyst for the capture of Dr Crippen), and "The Prime Minister’s Assassin," when Spencer Percival was murdered in the House of Commons by a disgruntled Liverpudlian civil servant. Unusual crimes also feature: "The Man In The Iron Coffin," "The Cheapside Vampire," and the family of extremely violent Victorian muggers, "The Murderous Mulveys. Stories continue into the early 20th century with the Edwardian gangs of Liverpool (the original Teddy Boys) and the "Tithebarn Street Outrage." The author also describes methods of punishing criminals in Liverpool through the ages and the role of the grisly Tower of Liverpool, where originally public hangings took place outside its walls and which became the disease-ridden town gaol in the 19th century. When the last hangings took place in Britain in the 1960s, it was carried out in Liverpool prison. This collection of true life crime stories vividly recreates the events surrounding them and gives an insight into life in Liverpool in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. This book will fascinate anyone with an interest in the history of crime as well as those who want to know more about the story of Liverpool.