Murder in the First-Class Carriage: The First Victorian Railway Killing - Softcover

Colquhoun, Kate

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1468300563 ISBN 13: 9781468300567

Publisher: Abrams Press, 2013

Synopsis

In July 1864, Thomas Briggs was traveling home after visiting his niece and her husband for dinner. He boarded a first-class carriage on the 9:45 pm Hackney service of the North London railway. A short time later, two bank clerks entered the compartment and noticed blood pooled in the seat cushions and smeared all over the floor and windows. But there was no sign of Thomas Briggs. All that remained was his ivory-knobbed walking stick, his empty leather bag, and a bloodstained hat that, strangely, did not belong to Mr. Briggs. The race to identify the killer and catch him as he fled on a boat to America was eagerly followed by the public on both sides of the Atlantic. The investigation and subsequent trial became a fixture in New York newspapers--and a frequent distraction from the Civil War that ravaged the nation. In Murder in the First-Class Carriage, acclaimed writer Kate Colquhoun tells the gripping tale of a crime that shocked an era.

About this title

About the Author:

Kate Colquhoun is the author of Murder in the First-Class Carriage. Her previous works have been nominated for the Duff Cooper Prize, the Samuel Johnson Prize and the CWA Gold Dagger Award. She writes regularly for numerous publications, including the Daily Telegraph and The Guardian. She lives in London.

Review:

"Colquhoun's work is an exquisite cautionary tale, as valuable today as it is telling of then." --Salon

"A suspenseful, well-paced account of a baffling mystery." --Washington Post

"Ms. Colquhoun's meticulously researched true-crime account, first published in England, is a tick-tock of the arrest and trial of a German tailor following a chase across the Atlantic...its final revelation is a showstopper." --New York Times

"Colquhoun's narrative will appeal to British, rail, and legal historians. She does an excellent job of describing the case and the times. Highly recommended." --Library Journal

About this edition

• Publisher: Abrams Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1468300563
• ISBN 13: 9781468300567
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352