Скачать книгу - Sentimental Murder: Love and Madness in the Eighteenth Century



On an April evening in 1779, a woman is shot on the steps of Covent Garden. Her murderer is a young soldier and Church of England minister; her lover, the Earl of Sandwich, one of the most powerful policians of the day. This compelling account of murder, love and intrigue brings Georgian London to life in a spellbinding historical masterpiece.On an April evening in 1779, Martha Ray, mistress of the Earl of Sandwich, was shot on the steps of Covent Garden by James Hackman, a young soldier and minister of the Church of England. She died instantly, leaving behind a grief-stricken lover and five small children. Hackman, after trying to kill himself, was arrested, tried and hanged at Tyburn ten days later. The story was to become one of the scandals of the age.It seemed an open-and-shut case, but why had Hackman killed Ray? He claimed he suffered from 'love's madness' but his motives remained obscure. And as Martha Ray shared the bed of one of the most powerful and unpopular politicians of the day (and one of Georgian London's greatest libertines), the city buzzed with the story, as every hack journalist sharpened his pen.John Brewer has written an account of this violent murder that is as thrilling and compelling as the best crime novel. Atmospheric, beautifully written, and alive with the characters and bustle of 18th-century London, the book examines in minute detail the events of a few crucial moments and gives an unforgettable account of the relationships between the three protagonists and their different places within society. However, the interest in Martha's murder did not end with the Georgians, and A Sentimental Murder ranges over two centuries, populated by journalists, biographers and historians who tried to make sense of the killing. And so it becomes an intriguing exploration of the relations between history and fiction, storytelling and fact, past and present. John Brewer has transformed a tragic tale of murder into an historical masterpiece.


The Murders in the Rue Morgue The Murders in the Rue Morgue

Автор: Эдгар Аллан По

Год издания: 

"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe published in Graham's Magazine in 1841. It has been claimed as the first detective story; Poe referred to it as one of his "tales of ratiocination".


At the Mountains of Madness At the Mountains of Madness

Автор: Говард Филлипс Лавкрафт

Год издания: 

The Barren, windswept interior of the Antarctic plateau was lifeless – or so the expedition from Miskatonic University thought. Then they found the strange fossils of unheard-of creatures and the carved stones tens of millions of years old.


Celtic Literatures in the Twentieth Century Celtic Literatures in the Twentieth Century

Автор: Сборник статей

Год издания: 

«The Centre for Irish and Celtic Studies at the University of Ulster hosted at Coleraine, between the 24th and 26th August 2000, a very successful and informative conference on ‘Celtic Literatures in the Twentieth Century’. The lectures and the discussions were of a high standard, and it was the intention of the organisers to edit and publish the proceedings as soon as possible thereafter. Unfortunately, due to dif culties in assembling some of the papers, this was not possible and, consequently, publication has been delayed much longer than was originally anticipated. Despite this delay, we feel that those papers which we have received merit publication at this time, not only because of their intrinsicmerits, but also because they represent the views of the authors on their respective topics at the turn of the twenty rst century and will hopefully be of value to those interested in the state of the modern Celtic literatures.»


Unpublished letters of the eighteenth century Unpublished letters of the eighteenth century

Автор: Группа авторов

Год издания: 

Полный вариант заголовка: «Unpublished letters of the eighteenth century : illustrative of the Herbert family ; and of the latter part of king William's and the earlier part of queen Anne's reigns : with notes / edited by Rebecca Warner».


The oriental geography of Ebn Haukal, an Arabian traveller of the tenth century The oriental geography of Ebn Haukal, an Arabian traveller of the tenth century

Автор: Haukal Ebn

Год издания: 

Полный вариант заголовка: «The oriental geography of Ebn Haukal, an Arabian traveller of the tenth century / translated from a manuscript in his own possession, collated with one preserved in the library of Eton College, by Sir William Ouseley».