The Executioner Always Chops Twice : Ghastly Blunders on the Scaffold
Abbott, Geoffrey
ISBN 10: 0312325630 ISBN 13: 9780312325633
Published by St. Martin's Press, 2004
Used
Hardcover
From
Better World Books: West, Reno, NV, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
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About this Item
Description:
Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 3183350-6
Synopsis:
A morbidly fascinating mixture of bungled executions ,strange last requests, and classic final one-liners from medieval times to the present day.
Sometimes it's hard to be an executioner, trying to keep someone from popping up to make a quip when they should have spectacularly sunk without a trace. Or to be told that the condemned to the guillotine won't have a last drink for fear of "completely losing his head." The business of death can be absurd, and nothing illustrates this better than these tales of the gruesome and frankly ridiculous ways in which a number of ill-fated unfortunates met (or failed to meet) their maker.
Did you know:
When Sir Thomas More was ordered to position his head on the block, he said "though you have warrant to cut off my head, you have none to cut off my beard?"
When the guillotine took three strokes to sever the neck of Isabeau Herman, the mob attempted to stone the executioner to death for cruelty?
After the English hanged the pirate Captain Kidd they chained his body to a stake on the Thames River as a warning to seafarers?
From the strange to the gruesome, from the weird to the completely unbelievable, The Executioner Always Chops Twice is popular history at its best: witty, lively, and wonderfully bizarre.
Sometimes it's hard to be an executioner, trying to keep someone from popping up to make a quip when they should have spectacularly sunk without a trace. Or to be told that the condemned to the guillotine won't have a last drink for fear of "completely losing his head." The business of death can be absurd, and nothing illustrates this better than these tales of the gruesome and frankly ridiculous ways in which a number of ill-fated unfortunates met (or failed to meet) their maker.
Did you know:
When Sir Thomas More was ordered to position his head on the block, he said "though you have warrant to cut off my head, you have none to cut off my beard?"
When the guillotine took three strokes to sever the neck of Isabeau Herman, the mob attempted to stone the executioner to death for cruelty?
After the English hanged the pirate Captain Kidd they chained his body to a stake on the Thames River as a warning to seafarers?
From the strange to the gruesome, from the weird to the completely unbelievable, The Executioner Always Chops Twice is popular history at its best: witty, lively, and wonderfully bizarre.
About the Author:
Geoffrey Abbott served for many years as a Yeoman Warder at the Tower of London. Author of sixteen books and contributor to the Encyclopedia Britannica, he has made numerous television appearances. He lives in London.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Bibliographic Details
Title: The Executioner Always Chops Twice : Ghastly...
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Publication Date: 2004
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Good
Edition: 1st.
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The Executioner Always Chops Twice : Ghastly Blunders on the Scaffold
Published by
St. Martin's Press, 2004
ISBN 10: 0312325630
ISBN 13: 9780312325633
Used
Hardcover
First Edition
Seller: Better World Books, Mishawaka, IN, U.S.A.
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
Condition: Very Good. 1st. Former library copy. Pages intact with possible writing/highlighting. Binding strong with minor wear. Dust jackets/supplements may not be included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good. Seller Inventory # 10380127-75