All aboard THE historical non-fiction event of spring 2012

Posted by Carleen Peters in Abacus, Book News, Recommended Reading

‘unputdownable’ Daily Telegraph
‘thrilling . . .reads at times like a good Victorian novel’ Sunday Times
‘compelling’ Easy Living

The paperback edition of Kate Colquhoun’s fantastic Mr Briggs’ Hat is published this week.

Nominated for the prestigious CWA non-fiction crime dagger award, and met with widespread critical acclaim in hardback, Mr Briggs’ Hat is a meticulously researched, thrillingly evoked account of the first railway murder in Britain.

About the book

In July 1864, Thomas Briggs was travelling home after visiting his niece and her husband for dinner. He entered a First Class carriage on the 9.45pm Hackney service of the North London railway. At Hackney, two bank clerks entered the carriage and discovered blood in the seat cushions; also on the floor, windows and sides of the carriage. A blood-stained hat was found on the seat along with a broken link from a watch chain.

The race to identify the killer and catch him as he fled on a boat to America was eagerly followed by citizens on both sides of the Atlantic – and his eventual capture culminated in one of the first ever ‘celebrity’ murder trials. Kate Colquhoun tells a gripping tale of a crime that shocked the nation.

An absolute must-have for fans of real life historical murder mysteries like The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, Mr Briggs’ Hat is available from all good bookshops now.