The Swamp of Death: A True Tale of Victorian Lies and Murder

by RebeccaGowers (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2004

  $3.28

  Just over one hundred years ago, three young men, all under 25, set out from England for the Canadian backwoods but within days of arriving one was dead and another arrested for murder. The details of the case, and the corrupt trial that followed, captured public attention to a quite incredible extent. The age of mass media was dawning, and newspapers with the submarine telegraph at their disposal turned the story into an international cause celebre. But while everyone had their say, some essential questions remained unanswered: who actually killed Frederick Benwell, and was murder part of the original plan?

• Used

  Paperback
  2005

  $3.28

  Early in 1890, three young gentlemen left England for the backwoods of Canada, each hoping to make a fortune. Within days of their arrival, one was dead and the other two had been arrested for murder. A tainted investigation and corrupt trial followed, minutely reported by sensation-hungry pressmen, and their use of submarine telegraph cables ensured that the case became an international cause celebre. But key questions remained. Who was the real murderer? Was the killing premeditated? What was the motive? Rebecca Gowers uses letters, press reports and memoirs to piece together a true tale as vivid and gripping as the best murder mysteries of Victorian fiction.