In the cobbled streets outside Newgate Prison, the common and desperate of London gather regularly to enjoy the spectacle of human necks broken at the end of a hangman's rope. For Rider Sandman, newly returned from the Napoleonic Wars, it is not grim entertainment that draws him here, but a mission to prove the guilt or innocence of a condemned prisoner -- a duty that leads Sandman from the hellish bowels of Newgate to the scented drawing rooms of the ruthless and powerful, and into the darkest shadows of the filthy, bustling city, in search of the truth.
Book Details
Format
Paperback
ISBN-10
0060082747
ISBN-13
9780060082741
Publication Date
May 2005
Item Weight
0.52 pounds
Length
7.99 inch
Width
5.31 inch
Height
0.71 inch
First Sentence
SIR HENRY FORREST, banker and alderman of the City of London, almost gagged when he entered the Press Yard, for the smell was terrible, worse than the reek of the sewer outflows where the Fleet Ditch oozed into the Thames.
Bernard Cornwell (born February 23, 1944) is an English author of historical novels, known for his meticulous research and engaging storytelling. Born in London, England, to a Canadian airman father and a mother in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, he was adopted by a family in Essex belonging to the Peculiar People sect. Cornwell attended London University and worked as a teacher before joining the BBC, where he spent a decade, eventually becoming Head of Current Affairs in Northern Ireland.
Bernard Cornwell is renowned for his long-running series of novels, including the *Sharpe* series about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe, the *Saxon Stories* (also known as *The Last Kingdom* series), which explores the unification of England, the *Warlord Chronicles* set in Arthurian Britain, and the *Grail Quest* series, which delves into a 14th-century search for the Holy Grail during the Hundred Years' War. Cornwell has written historical novels primarily based on English history, in five series, and one series of contemporary thriller novels. A notable feature of his historical novels is an end note on how they match or differ from history. He has also written a nonfiction book on the battle of Waterloo. Three of his historical novel series have been adapted for television: the *Sharpe* series by ITV, *The Last Kingdom* by BBC, and *The Winter King* for MGM+.
([Source][1])
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Cornwell
