During his years as executioner between 1901 and 1924, John Ellis hanged over 200 men and women. Among them were some of the most infamous killers of the 20th century including Dr Crippen, John Dickman 'The Railway Murderer', George Smith 'The Brides in the Bath' murderer, Henry Jacoby, poisoners Frederick Seddon and Major Herbert Rowse Armstrong. Ellis also hanged Sir Roger Casement for treachery and carried out the execution of Edith Thompson, one of the most controversial hangings in the history of capital punishment. British executioners kept their own legers recording brief details of those they hanged, John Ellis maintained just such a leger too but he is believed to be the only British executioner to have kept an additional scrapbook of his personal accounts of those he executed and their crimes and as such it is a unique volume in the annals of British crime and punishment. Rediscovered after being lost for decades, John Ellis' scrapbook - its cuttings, manuscript texts, and annotations - have now been diligently transcribed and we can now read the book Ellis envisaged in his own words, and in doing so, we gain a remarkable insight into the life and executions one of Britain's most notable but least-known hangmen. AUTHOR: Neil R. Storey is an award-winning historian and best-selling author of over fifty books. A graduate of the University of East Anglia, he is an internationally recognised authority and lecturer on the dark history of Britain and Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula. Known for his ground-breaking research, Neil has a remarkable library and archive of original photographs, documents, and manuscripts. He frequently appears as a guest expert on television and radio factual programmes such as Who Do Think You Are? and Help! My House is Haunted. Neil's previous books published by Pen & Sword include The Blackout Murders, Bram Stoker: Author of Dracula and Nazi Spies and Collaborators in Britain 1939-1945. 30 b/w illustrations
