Why is there so much fodder for humor in bad books? We should be weeping! (BWAAAHAHAHA…)

May I recommend as a source of information for anyone who wants to write stories involving English criminals during the late 16th to (soon) the early 20th centuries, the following web site: http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/

The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London 1674 to 1834

A fully searchable online edition of the largest body of texts detailing the lives of non-elite people ever published, containing accounts of over 100,000 criminal trials held at London’s central criminal court.

I really like the male cover model though. Shallow of me, I know…

Ryder believed he had his viscountcy to thank for having been tried on a lesser charge than murder and thus spared a capital sentence. He'd been relieved at the time because it meant he would not forfeit his lands. He'd avoided the noose but not punishment. Deeming him too dangerous to walk the streets, they'd caged him. However, he had come to learn that death certainly trumped time spent on the agonizing treadwheel
or working the water engine crank or days of mind-twisting isolation.”

The original charge would have been murder but people come forward after he’s been in prison for 5 years and testify on his behalf. That’s when he gets out and the whoopee begins.