On an April evening in 1779, a woman is shot on the steps of Covent
Garden. Her murderer is a young soldier and Church of England
minister; her lover, the Earl of Sandwich, one of the most powerful
politicians of the day. This compelling account of murder, love and
intrigue brings Georgian London to life in a spellbinding
historical masterpiece. On an April evening in 1779, Martha Ray,
mistress of the Earl of Sandwich, was shot on the steps of Covent
Garden by James Hackman, a young soldier and minister of the Church
of England. She died instantly, leaving behind a grief-stricken
lover and five small children. Hackman, after trying to kill
himself, was arrested, tried and hanged at Tyburn ten days later.
The story was to become one of the scandals of the age. It seemed
an open-and-shut case, but why had Hackman killed Ray? He claimed
he suffered from 'love's madness' but his motives remained obscure.
And as Martha Ray shared the bed of one of the most powerful and
unpopular politicians of the day (and one of Georgian London's
greatest libertines), the city buzzed with the story, as every hack
journalist sharpened his pen. John Brewer has written an account of
this violent murder that is as thrilling and compelling as the best
crime novel. Atmospheric, beautifully written, and alive with the
characters and bustle of 18th-century London, the book examines in
minute detail the events of a few crucial moments and gives an
unforgettable account of the relationships between the three
protagonists and their different places within society. However,
the interest in Martha's murder did not end with the Georgians, and
'Sentimental Murder 'ranges over two centuries, populated by
journalists, biographers and historians who tried to make sense of
the killing. And so it becomes an intriguing exploration of the
relations between history and fiction, storytelling and fact, past
and present. John Brewer has transformed a tragic tale of murder
into an historical masterpiece.
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