Shooting Victoria, Paul Thomas Murphy
Shooting Victoria is an account of the eight assassination attempts made on the Queen's life during her sixty-four-year reign. Murphy chronicles each would-be assassin's life in depth, from birth to attempt, through arrest and trial, and then briefly sketches out their lives after their sentencing. I was surprised to see that several assassins actually had better lives after attempting to kill the queen; I'm thinking in particular of John Francis and William Hamilton. Victoria seemed pretty surprised by it too, since she pushed throughout her life (and the book) for harsher penalties for those who tried to hurt her.
It's a pretty fascinating book. Very long, as you can see immediately upon picking it up, but fascinating nonetheless. Murphy tries to build a complete picture of the social and legal circumstances surrounding each assassination attempt and subsequent trial, and while this can get rambling and off-topic at times, I found it a really interesting read. Murphy also writes with a great deal of compassion for the would-be assassins, particularly John William Bean and Roderick McLean. Victoria herself receives somewhat shorter shrift-- a secret Republican in Mr. Murphy, perhaps?
Regardless of political sympathies, it's a good book and I found it really interesting. However, the frequent, almost Hugo-esque digressions might put other people off. I would say pick this up if you're interested in Victorian England or in wannabe assassins, but perhaps not otherwise.
This entry is crossposted at http://bookblather.dreamwidth.org/344628.html. Please comment over there if possible.
It's a pretty fascinating book. Very long, as you can see immediately upon picking it up, but fascinating nonetheless. Murphy tries to build a complete picture of the social and legal circumstances surrounding each assassination attempt and subsequent trial, and while this can get rambling and off-topic at times, I found it a really interesting read. Murphy also writes with a great deal of compassion for the would-be assassins, particularly John William Bean and Roderick McLean. Victoria herself receives somewhat shorter shrift-- a secret Republican in Mr. Murphy, perhaps?
Regardless of political sympathies, it's a good book and I found it really interesting. However, the frequent, almost Hugo-esque digressions might put other people off. I would say pick this up if you're interested in Victorian England or in wannabe assassins, but perhaps not otherwise.
This entry is crossposted at http://bookblather.dreamwidth.org/344628.html. Please comment over there if possible.