The Pride and the Sorrow

Please visit The Hangman and the Murderess's sister pages, The Pride and the Sorrow, the story of boy genius chess player Paul Morphy who became chess champion of the world aged twenty-one. After touring and conquering Europe, Paul is drawn back to New Orleans and a self-destructive love for the red-light district girl Clarabelle. See the full blog at http://theprideandthesorrow.blogspot.com/

The Murderess and the Hangman

I am currently researching The Murderess and the Hangman, a novel about the famed but forgotten hangman William Marwood, inventor of 'the long drop' for ensuring a swift capital punishment, and the true-life story of murderess Kate Webster, hanged by Marwood in London for killing her landlady for a few pieces of furniture.

Mugshots: executioner

This is William Marwood, looking worn and sad. His eyes are very odd, ghostly, one strangely inert and the other eerily cruel. A man of science, he spent his career as exeuctioner trying to quicken the 'dance of death' at the end of his hangman's rope.

Mugshots: killer

This is Kate Webster, looking both proud and mournful, and frightening.

The Long Drop

This is the gallows at Wandsworth Prison, London, similar to the ones used to execute Kate Webster in 1879. Note the nearby lever to activate the 'long drop.' The room was a self-enclosed execution chamber, and portable. It was known affectionately as "The Cold Meat Shed."