Damn His Blood

The brutal murder of the Rev. George Parker in the rural village of Oddingley on Midsummer's Day in 1806 - shot and beaten to death, his body set on fire and left smouldering in his own glebe field - gripped everyone from the Home Secretary to newspapermen across the country. It was a strange and stubborn case. The investigation lasted 24 years and involved inquests, judges, and coroners, each more determined than the last to solve the gruesome crime.

Damn His Blood is a fascinating glimpse into English life at the start of the 19th century. England was exhausted and nervous: dogged by Pitt's war taxes, mounting inflation, and the lingering threat of a French invasion, violence was rife, particularly in rural communities where outsiders were regarded with deep suspicion. Damn His Blood is a nail-biting true story of brutality, greed, and ruthlessness, which brings an elusive society vividly back to life.

©2012 Peter Moore (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Fascinating book

I am only halfway through this book. It is a wonderful book full of lifestyles on the early 19th century - quite a history lesson at the same time as being a fascinating account of a brutal murder.