The Peculiar Case of the Electric Constable: A True Tale of Passion, Poison and Pursuit

Baxter, Carol

ISBN 10: 1780742436 / ISBN 13: 9781780742434

Published by Oneworld Publications, 2013

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 58W000000EDD

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Peculiar Case of the Electric Constable: A True Tale of Passion, Poison and Pursuit
• Publisher: Oneworld Publications
• Publication Date: 2013
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1780742436
• ISBN 13: 9781780742434
• Binding: paperback
• Condition: LikeNew
• Weight: 16 ounces

About this title

Synopsis

John Tawell was a sincere Quaker but a sinning one. Convicted of forgery, he was transported to Sydney, where he opened Australia’s first retail pharmacy and made a fortune. When he returned home to England after fifteen years, he thought he would be welcomed; instead he was shunned.

Then on New Year’s Day 1845 Tawell boarded the 7:42 pm train to London Paddington. Soon, men arrived chasing a suspected murderer – but the 7:42 had departed. The Great Western Railway was experimenting with a new-fangled device, the electric telegraph, so a message was sent: a ‘KWAKER’ man was on the run. The trail became a sensation, involving no apparent weapon, much innuendo, and a pious man desperate to save his reputation – and would usher in the modern communication age.

Told with narrative verve and rich in historical research, this is a delicious true tale of murder and scientific revolution in Victorian England.

About the Author

Carol Baxter is the prize-winning author of three popular histories with a criminal bent – An Irresistible Temptation, Breaking the Bank and Captain Thunderbolt and His Lady – all of which have been published to critical acclaim in her native Australia. Previously, she was General Editor of the Biographical Database of Australia and, before that, Project Officer of the Australian Biographical and Genealogical Record, in which roles she edited many records relating to convicts transported to Australia to serve out their sentences. These helped her to discover the subjects for her tales of true crime. She is a Fellow of the Society of Australian Genealogists and an adjunct lecturer at the University of New England (NSW). A full-time writer and speaker, she lives in Sydney.