Tales from the Hanging Court

From everyday customs to violent transgression, "Tales from the Hanging Court" paints a fascinating and vivid picture of what it was like to live in London 250 years ago, from the dark alleys to the glittering thoroughfares.

Drawing on the Old Bailey archives from 1674 to 1834 the authors recreate the real-life and death dramas on which Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding and Charles Dickens based their novels.

The authors uncover the traditions -- and aberrations -- that coloured daily life in a society where it was easier to witness an execution than to attend the theatre.