The Cater Street Hangman (Hardcover)

by Anne Perry (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
"An ingenious mystery and an excellent example of manners and caste systems of the Victorian era."
THE CHATTANOOGA TIMES
While the Ellison girls were out paying calls and drinking tea like proper Victorian ladies, a maid in their household was strangled to death. The quiet and young Inspector Pitt investigates the scene and finds no one above suspicion. As his intense questioning causes many a composed facade to crumble, Pitt finds himself couriously drawn to pretty Charlotte Ellison. Yet, a romance between a society girl and so unsuitable a suitor was impossible in the midst of a murder....


From the Paperback edition. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Publisher
I have been to many many Anne Perry bookstore events throughout this country and at every single event the same question gets asked: when is one of your books going to be made into a TV series? Well, fans everywhere, the good news is that this fall in England a two-hour pilot will air on ITV based on THE CATER STREET HANGMAN. And then in early December finally finally finally it will air in the United States on A&E. THE CATER STREET HANGMAN is Anne Perry's first book and features William Pitt and Charlotte. I can't wait to see the Victorian costumes and the characters that I love come to life on the TV screen.

Kim Hovey, VP & Director of Publicity --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 247 pages
• Publisher: St Martins Pr (June 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031212385X
• ISBN-13: 978-0312123857
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,017,779 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 1 in The Thomas Pitt Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thundering good read!, March 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Cater Street Hangman (Mass Market Paperback)

I was aware of Anne Perry's historical mysteries and assumed I would not be interested in them since in general I prefer more contemporary mysteries. Then I saw A&E's production of The Cater Street Hangman and was captivated by it. I immediately bought the book and found it to be even better than the TV version - the characters have more depth and the plot is tighter and more credible. Anne Perry has a wonderful knack for creating characters. I feel as though I know (and like) Charlotte Ellison and Thomas Pitt. Charlotte is a wonderful creation: she speaks her mind, almost unheard of in the Victorian well-to-do world she inhabits. Thomas Pitt is an equally interesting creation and seeing the two of them pass beyond instant dislike to attraction and admiration for each other is very entertaining. We SO want them to get together. This is edge-of-the seat stuff which, together with all the wonderful details of life in Victorian London and an intelligent love affair, makes for a thundering good read!

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book that revived the historical mystery., May 29, 2000

By	Sharon Wylie (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Cater Street Hangman (Mass Market Paperback)

What plot! What a setting! What characters! Anne Perry started a revolution with this book, the first in her Charlotte and Thomas Pitt series (Charlotte is not "Pitt" yet in this book). When murder disturbs the elite and proper world of the Ellison family, the cracks begin to show in the family's heretofore placid exterior. Family members start to look at each other with fear and doubt, and suspicion is as frightening as truth.

Perry's depiction of Victorian England is detailed and fascinating--she is as knowledgeable of upper-class life as she is of the working-class. Her characters are realistic and sympathetic, and the kicker of an ending in this book is the sort that has become her trademark.

You cannot call yourself a fan of the historical mystery without reading this book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it!, April 27, 2006

By	J. Lesley (Midsouth) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Cater Street Hangman (Mass Market Paperback)

This is the first Anne Perry mystery I have read and I wanted to begin with the first Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novel so that I could read them in order if I chose to continue with the series. I just loved it! It was a book that was almost impossible for me to put down. That phrase is used so often in reviews that I hesitate to use it but nothing else comes close to describing how truly absorbed I became in this story.

Other reviewers have covered the plot so I will only say that I found everything I am looking for in a period mystery in this novel. I had no idea who the killer was up until the reveal and then could only marvel at how ingenious this author is in her thinking. I had suspected someone else of the crimes but was wholly satisfied with Perry's results. That says a lot coming from a longtime mystery reader.

If there was a tiny niggle, it would be that Charlotte did not get quite enough time to realize that her feelings for Pitt were changing. But in the end, who cares? All's well that ends up with them becoming a team. I can't wait to dig into Callander Square, I just have to find a good clear space of time to be totally uninterrupted.