Author:Keith Wilkinson
A beautiful island lying in the northern part of the Irish Sea between England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, the Isle of Man was once a popular holiday destination. It is perhaps better known today for the TT motorcycle races held there, its tailless cats and Manx kippers. However, it also has its darker side.
Manx Murders is a collection of gripping and mysterious murder cases committed on the Island over the last 150 years, from the brutal slaying of a spinster one dark night on a lonely track near Ramsey to the infamous 'Golden Egg Murder' in central Douglas.
The cases that have caused shock and sensation throughout two centuries of the Island's history are recorded here as the author reveals the events behind the last hanging on the Island, a deathbead confession, the harrowing story of a murderous father and the cases that remain unsolved to this day. The Island's political importance as a wartime holding area for prisoners of war is also explored through the account of a bizarre, seemingly motiveless killing in 1916 and the stabbing of a Finnish prisoner during the Second World War.
Using information obtained from newspapers, inquest records and trial transcripts whenever these were available, each murder is described against the backdrop of contemporary events to give the reader a distinct flavour of life at the time of the crime. While each case is unique, all share an overwhelming sadness and tragedy that will never be forgotten.
A page turner... Hugo Vickers' compelling account makes one feel that Wallis did the Queen a favour
—— Literary ReviewWith a lifetime's interest in the subject, Vickers knows everything there is to know about the Windsors . . . The first half of Behind Closed Doors, as well as being an accumulation of evidence against Blum, is the story of a personal journey into the world of the Windsors in which Vickers quotes from nearly 40 years of his own diary entries. It is also a hugely entertaining account of the battle between biographers for ownership of their subject . . . The book's second half is a biography of Wallis Simpson, nee Warfield. Vickers delves into her family tree with his accustomed detail and gives a realistic account of the end of her marriage to Ernest Simpson.
—— TelegraphA definitively brilliant history of the whole story
—— A.N. Wilson , Evening StandardHot on the heels of The Victorians ... His witty conversational style and eye for period detail bring the brilliance and spectacle of the Elizabethan age vividly to life.
—— Sunday Expressa compulsive read.
—— Country LifeHe looks through the eyes of some of the most colourful and celebrated characters in English history and culture . . . Readers will take delight.
—— SpectatorA fitting monument to an expansive epoch.
—— TelegraphThere is much to treasure.
—— Philippa GregoryAN Wilson’s one-volume history captures the heady turmoil of a flourishing era, laying doting emphasis on the titanic charisma of the Virgin Queen herself.
—— Sunday TelegraphIt wasn't all sweetness and light between Maggie and Ronnie, as this account of their difficult relationship shows
—— Summer reading pick from THe Sunday TimesPankaj Mishra has produced a riveting account that makes new and illuminating connections. He follows the intellectual trail of this contested history with both intelligence and moral clarity. In the end we realise that what we are holding in our hands is not only a deeply entertaining and deeply humane book, but a balance sheet of the nature and mentality of colonisation
—— Hisham MatarHighly readable and illuminating ... Mishra's analysis of Muslim reactions is particularly topical
—— David Goodall , TabletEnormously ambitious but thoroughly readable, this book is essential reading for everyone who is interested in the processes of change that have led to the emergence of today's Asia
—— Amitav Ghosh , Wall Street JournalSophisticated ... not so much polemic as cri de coeur, motivated by Mishra's keen sense of the world, East and West, hurtling towards its own destruction
—— Tehelka, New DelhiOutstanding ... Mishra wears his scholarship lightly and weaves together the many strands of history into a gripping narrative ... The insights afforded by this book are too many to be enumerated ... Mishra performs a signal service to the future - by making us read the past in a fresh light
—— The Hindu, New Delhi[Full of] complexity and nuance
—— Mail TodaySubtle, erudite and entertaining
—— Financial ExpressMishra allows the reader to see the events of two centuries anew, through the eyes of the journalists, poets, radicals and charismatics who criss-crossed Europe and Asia
—— Free Press JournalA vital, nuanced argument ... prodigious
—— Mint
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