The Peculiar Case of the Electric Constable A True Tale of Passion, Poison and Pursuit |
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| Author:
| Baxter, Carol |
| ISBN: | 978-1-78074-244-1 |
| Publication Date: | Sep 2013 |
| Publisher: | Oneworld Publications
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| Book Format: | Ebook |
| List Price: | Contact Supplier contact
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Book Description:
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John Tawell was a sincere Quaker but a sinning one. Convicted of forgery, he was transported to Sydney, where he opened Australia's first retail pharmacy and made a fortune. When he returned home to England after fifteen years, he thought he would be welcomed; instead he was shunned. Then on New Year's Day 1845 Tawell boarded the 7:42 pm train to London Paddington. Soon, men arrived chasing a suspected murderer - but the 7:42 had departed. The Great Western Railway was...
More DescriptionJohn Tawell was a sincere Quaker but a sinning one. Convicted of forgery, he was transported to Sydney, where he opened Australia's first retail pharmacy and made a fortune. When he returned home to England after fifteen years, he thought he would be welcomed; instead he was shunned.
Then on New Year's Day 1845 Tawell boarded the 7:42 pm train to London Paddington. Soon, men arrived chasing a suspected murderer - but the 7:42 had departed. The Great Western Railway was experimenting with a new-fangled device, the electric telegraph, so a message was sent: a 'KWAKER' man was on the run. The trail became a sensation, involving no apparent weapon, much innuendo, and a pious man desperate to save his reputation - and would usher in the modern communication age.
Told with narrative verve and rich in historical research, this is a delicious true tale of murder and scientific revolution in Victorian England.