The Hyde Park Headsman [Hardcover]

Anne Perry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 8, 1994

Police Supervisor Thomas Pitt and his sleuthing wife, Charlotte, investigate a series of gruesome decapitation murders in Hyde Park that are terrifying Victorian London. 50,000 first printing. $30,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In addition to being a splendidly plotted yarn, Perry's 14th Thomas and Charlotte Pitt mystery, following last year's Farrier's Lane , explores the nature of power while adding detail and color to Perry's ever more elaborate tapestry of late-19th century London life. The discovery in Hyde Park of the decapitated corpse of Oakley Winthrop, a naval captain from a titled family, sends a ripple of fear through the city that still has vivid memories of Jack the Ripper. Those at the top clearly expect Thomas, recently named superintendent in charge of the Bow Street station, to catch the murderer summarily. Thomas views the attack as personally motivated and isolated until a second headless corpse turns up in the park. Adding to the pressure on the new superintendent is Nigel Uttley, candidate in a Parliamentary by-election and member of the Inner Circle, a powerful secret society, who uses the murders as fodder for some rousing electioneering at police expense. While Thomas, spurred on by the discovery of yet another body, determinedly searches for a link among the dead men, Charlotte and her sister, Emily Radley, turn their drawing-room skills to information gathering and uncover a secret to which Thomas was blind. By painting her characters' personal dilemmas as vividly as she does their historical context, Perry keeps her series fresh and continually compelling.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Well-known series protagonist Thomas Pitt, newly promoted to police supervisor, faces fierce pressure to apprehend a notorious murderer who beheads his victims. More fine work from a popular historicist.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 392 pages
• Publisher: Fawcett; 1st edition (February 8, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0449906361
• ISBN-13: 978-0449906361
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,311,470 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anne Perry is the bestselling author of two acclaimed series set in Victorian England: the William Monk novels, including Dark Assassin and The Shifting Tide, and the Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels, including The Cater Street Hangman, Calandar Square, Buckingham Palace Gardens and Long Spoon Lane. She is also the author of the World War I novels No Graves As Yet, Shoulder the Sky, Angels in the Gloom, At Some Disputed Barricade, and We Shall Not Sleep, as well as six holiday novels, most recently A Christmas Grace. Anne Perry lives in Scotland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Solid Murder Mystery, May 21, 2005

By 

H. Monroe (Nashville, Tennessee) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Hyde Park Headsman (Mass Market Paperback)

While this was not my favorite Perry novel, I enjoyed it far more than some of the other reviewers seemed to. The story centers around a series of beheadings that are discovered in or around the Hyde Park area of London. In addition to trying to solve these mysteries, Thomas Pitt must deal with conflict created by both subordinates and superiors who doubt that he is qualified for the Superintendent position to which he has recently been promoted. His inability to solve the mystery also becomes an issue in his brother-in-law's campaign for a seat in the House of Commons.

In terms of my enjoyment of the novel, I think it makes a difference that I have read all of the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt novels up through this one. Over the course of those 10+ novels, Perry has created an interesting and likable couple that I enjoy following through their various adventures. The new characters introduced in Hyde Park Headsman are not as interesting as those found in some of her other novels, and this work lacks the psychological depth of some of the earlier works. Nonetheless, for those who have gotten to know Thomas and Charlotte through the earlier novels, this is an enjoyable page-turner.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Why does everyone dislike this book so much?, March 29, 2008

By 

Michael K. Smith (South Louisiana) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Hyde Park Headsman (Mass Market Paperback)

This is one of the better mysteries in the series set in 1880s London which feature Inspector Thomas Pitt and his wife, Charlotte (and a growing number of his in-laws, too). Pitt has just been promoted to be Superintendent of the Bow Street station, and he's beginning to discover the difficulties inherent in the increased responsibility. Then a decapitated body turns up in a small boat off the Serpentine and the public, which hasn't forgotten the Ripper killings the previous year, begins to get nervous. And then a second beheading occurs, and then a third, and Pitt can't find anything the three murders have in common. While Pitt struggles with the case, moreover, Charlotte is busy with the new house they've just bought on the strength of his increased salary, and Emily is deeply involved with her new husband's second campaign for a seat in Parliament. The Inner Circle is strongly in the background this time, which is unfortunate -- especially since the description of its activities reminds one of Prof. Moriarty's organization.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not her best,but better than the perryphobes say., March 29, 2009

By 

Colin Glithero "nedalleyn" (Auburn,WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Hyde Park Headsman (Mass Market Paperback)

Too many of the negative reviews seem to come from people who were hostile to the book before they had even read it, or because it was simply not the type of book they were looking for. For those who like historical mysteries, particularly Victorian, in which the manners and mores of the period play an important role in the motives of the characters and the solution of the crime, Anne Perry's books are page-turners, especially the Thomas and Charlotte Pitt series. However, I do agree with those who say that this is not one of her best. I wish she would drop the Inner Circle, a hackneyed and irritating plot device. If you don't know her books, I recommend reading them in strict chronological order, but be sure to start with this series, not the definitely inferior William Monk one. This will draw you into the development of the series characters,Thomas and Charlotte and her family (he has none) and carry you through the occasional slightly weaker books. I said " Slightly weaker". To read some of the reviews you would imagine this book is a disaster. It isn't. It's an enjoyable read, just not up to her brilliant best.