Gallows Thief

Great historical story that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the bitter end. Rider Sandman, a Captain in the Army during the Napoleonic wars, has returned home and sold his commission to support his mother and his sister. Captain Sandman is searching for work and is commissioned to search out the veracity of the guilt of a painter, Christopher Corday, who will hang on the gallows if Captain Sandman can not find the actual murderer. The author captures the sights, sounds, and smells of Regency England in this dark and suspenseful story. I loved every bit of the story but the very graphic descriptions of the those condemned to hang is very gruesome. A compelling historical novel.

Gallows Thief is a good book, filled with interesting characters and great scenes. Cornwell is a master at bringing the scene to life with vivid descriptions that make the reader feel, and in the case of Gallows Thief smell, like they are in the middle of the story. Rider Sandman the hero of Waterloo finds himself down and out in London with few prospects for employment, when he is asked by the Home Secretary to "investigate" the circumstances surrounding a murder; he can earn a month's pay in a week. Sandman takes the job only to find that the murder is far from the open and shut case that it first appears. In his attempt to prove the innocence of a condemned man Sandman meets several interesting characters as the reader is taken across London and into the country side to Kent. Cornwell does his usual brilliant job of bringing the story to life. It is an interesting and entertaining mystery. I found that I figured out the plot twist before it was totally revealed but I did not make all the connections that the author lays out. Gallows Thief is a fun read and a good break from some of Cornwell's longer series.

This is much more than a historical whodonit. Sandman, the hero, has just suffered a reverse of fortune when the story begins: his father has committed suicide because he was bankrupted, and has left his family without a penny. All the plans that Sandman had for the future have been destroyed, including his intention to marry a beautiful, intelligent and rich heiress. He finds himself living in the worst part of London, sharing the squalor and appalling conditions of life with the "dregs" of society. The author makes a wonderful work of describing these (without being too sordid), from the point of view of one who, until recently, belonged to the privileged class. In fact the main character learns a lot about this formerly hidden aspect of his society. And it is one of the triumphs of the novel that he will only redeem himself, and find a new place in society, when (with the help of these same "dregs", including a highwayman, a girl who is on the path to whoredom and an ex-soldier thug) he undoes a terrible unjustice (the whodonit aspect of the novel)while always trying to keep his moral standards which, as he learns, are not necessarily kept by the higher society people for whose only benefit, it seems, the "justice" of his country is made. It is this rigid moral code of the hero, which he follows even when he deals with "scum", what endears him to us, what helps him find good qualities in "low" people and bad qualities in "high" people, and what finally makes him get out of the cul-de-sac where he finds himself at the beginning of the story. I loved it!

England 1817, and an effete young artist is accused of the rape and murder of the wayward wife of a powerful man - the only possible sentence in these times is the gallows; but his mother has influence and secures an appeal, so as a palliative, Captain Sandman is hired to 'investigate' - i.e. confirm the Court's decision.Unfortunately, Sandman is a man of principle, and he smells a rat - so when the apparently open-and-shut case proves to be more than it appears, he only has 6 more days to snatch the artist from the hangman.However, he is less than qualified to achieve this goal, his only assets being his breeding, an explosive temper and a sense of justice. Not much ammunition, especially as the conspiracy involves some very vindictive and influential people.The story rattles along at a great pace, with plenty of intrigue, mystery and sub-plots, some romance and a good grasp of the mores and values of Georgian society - as one would expect from someone with Mr. Cornwell's portfolio. The suspense of the last chapter is nail-biting and also ties up some annoying apparent inconsistencies in the plot.As usual with Mr. Cornwell's books, the historical facts behind the fiction, along with some other interesting references, are outlined in an appended note.An excellent read; highly recommended. *****