England entered the nineteenth century having lost the American states and was at war with France. The slave trade had been halted and the country was in torment, with industrialisation throwing men and women out of work as poverty haunted their lives. As the merchants of England and America saw their businesses stagnate and profits plummet, everyone blamed the government and its policies. Those in charge were alarmed and businessmen, who were believed to be exploiting the poor, were murdered. Assassination indeed stalked the streets. The man at the centre of the storm was Prime Minister Spencer Perceval. From the higher reaches of society to the beggar looking for bread, many wanted him dead, due to policies brought about by his inflexible religious convictions and his belief that he was appointed by God. In May 1812 he entered the Lobby of the Houses of Parliament when a man stepped forward and fired a pistol at him. The lead ball entered into his heart. Within minutes he was dead. Using freshly-discovered archive material, this book explores the assassin's thoughts and actions through his own writings. Using his background in psychology, the author explores the question of the killer's sanity and the fairness of his subsequent trial. Within its pages the reader will find an account of the murder of Spencer Perceval and a well-developed portrait of his assassin.
Author(s): Martin Connolly
Publisher: Pen & Sword History/Pen & Sword Books
Year: 2018
Language: English
Pages: 175
Tags: Great Britain History, Murder & Mayhem True Accounts
Cover
......Page 1
Book Title
......Page 4
Copyright
......Page 5
Contents
......Page 8
Acknowledgements
......Page 10
Preface
......Page 12
Chapter 1: A Background of War and Violence
......Page 14
Chapter 2: Born Into Madness
......Page 24
Chapter 3: Marriage, Trading and Trouble
......Page 32
Chapter 4: The Sponging House and the Horse Tails
......Page 36
Chapter 5: The Leaving of Liverpool for Archangel
......Page 44
Chapter 6: Archangel to St Petersburg
......Page 52
Chapter 7: Statements of Grievances
......Page 62
Chapter 8: A Tragic Crusade
......Page 70
Chapter 9: The Normality of Madness
......Page 90
Chapter 10: The Assassin’s Justice
......Page 94
Chapter 11: I Have Only Done My Duty
......Page 104
Chapter 12: I Put Myself Upon God and My Country
......Page 110
Chapter 13: My Insanity Was Made A Matter of Public Notoriety
......Page 122
Chapter 14: I Am Perfectly Ready
......Page 144
Chapter 15: It Was From Personal Resentment – Or Was It?
......Page 148
Chapter 16: The Question of Sanity
......Page 156
Chapter 17: The Aftermath
......Page 162
Bibliography and Sources
......Page 168
Index
......Page 172
Back Cover......Page 175
