Customer Reviews

Very English Hangman

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Very English indeed. Pierrepoint, the stereotypical blueprint of a discreet British gentleman; nevermind the ghoulish task at hand. This particular account of the man in question is a well researched one and pulls no punches with regards to the unvieling of the various hypocrisies that are always present in the character of the consumate perfectionist. Good book, good read, facinating character.

I was very disappointed with this purchase. I have long been interested in the subject of British judicial hanging and after reading quite a bit about Albert Pierrepoint I bought this book because I thought it would be a decent, in-depth look at the man and his life. Unfortunately, although the subtitle is 'The Life and Times of Albert Pierrepoint', it is really just a lengthy essay on the author's thoughts and feeling about capital punishment. There is indeed some biographical information about Pierrepoint included, but largely he is used only as a vehicle for Ms Klein to develop her thesis that judicial executions are an 'obscenity' and the rather curious suggestion that any interest, inquiry into, or discussion about the subject is basically pornographic. The author did have some opinions to express about the man, most notably that he was 'piously hypocritical', and while I think there may be a grain of truth in that, I found her conclusions about him to be too biased and emotionally influenced. I was hoping for an objective look at this interesting historical figure and was instead rewarded with diatribe.