Peter Stubley

3.5 stars

1888 in London had more murders than the women Jack the Ripper killed. This book looks at many more of them, though some are manslaughter, and some of the possible/potential murderers are acquitted. . They include bar fights, domestic abuse, infants and newborns, prostitutes, hit and runs (horse and carriage), and more. Of course, the chapter that includes prostitutes does also talk a bit about the Ripper murders.

It was good and interesting as I read it, but fitting so many murders into one book, the descriptions of them have to be fairly short, so it felt a bit like short stories to me. And to me, that means I probably won’t remember much of it in the not-too-distant future. Enjoyable at the time, but maybe not memorable later on. There was some history of London, especially near the start of the book, to help describe the conditions, so that was interesting, too.… (mehr)

A Pauper’s History of England – A View from the Gutter

Anyone that has studied English History knows that over the years most of the texts on the subject are from the upper echelons of society. There are so many books about the Kings and Queens the masters and mistresses of England, those who ruled and quite often abused those below them. We have histories of our churches and the ministry they gave to the deserving poor.

Peter Stubley has like some historians before him have decided to take a look up from the gutter and his book A Pauper’s History of England, 1000 Years of Peasants, Beggars & Guttersnipes. This is a wonderful view from the bottom of the pile looking up at their Lordships, this is a book that looks at all those the history books forgot or simply avoided.

This is really is history from a different perspective and oh what an interesting perspective it is as the history starts from the Doomsday Book in 1886, taking in a monks vow of poverty, something easily achieved at that time. A look at the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381 and the brutal suppression of the revolt and this was the first time a Poll Tax was introduced in to the country. A thousand years later when a Government tried to introduce a Poll Tax once again, the peasants revolted again, and helped to get rid of Margaret Thatcher.

In the chapter that covers The Counterfeit Crank we are introduced to an idle beggar who was notorious of his time, Nicholas Genings. We also learn quite a lot of the slang language of the time which was rather interesting and at times a little eye opening. It was also interesting to learn that Queen Elizabeth I also licensed genuine beggars across the whole of England. Not the system she set up actually worked.

With a trip to Bedlam, in which we see the patients of Britain’s first public asylum, or to give it the correct name Bethlehem Hospital and we see the description of it. It is hard to believe on the descriptions on the beauty of the building the chaos that reigned within its walls. The descriptions of the cacophony of noise that would hit you on entering the hospital, you soon see how the Hospital gained the moniker of Bedlam, a word now in common usage today.

Peter Stubley has researched and written a wonderful history book that really draws you in and think there by the grace of God I live today rather than then. Well written and illustrated throughout this book is of great interest to all readers and especially those that want to know more about the poor of England and how they were dealt with in history.… (mehr)