James and John: A True Story of Prejudice and Murder by Chris Bryant (English) H

Description: James and John by Chris Bryant *A BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week*Carefully observed, rich in detail, imaginative, compassionate and angry. A raw, unexpected portrait of Britains grandeur, wealth, energy, cruelty and hypocrisy in the age of liberalism RORY STEWARTA shocking story of prejudice and injustice, told in meticulous detail KEIR STARMERFrom award-winning historian and Sunday Times bestselling author Chris Bryant MP, James and John tells the story of what it meant to be gay in early 19th-century Britain through the lens of a landmark trial.They had nothing to expect from the mercy of the crown; their doom was sealed; no plea could be urged in extenuation of their crime, and they well knew that for them there was no hope in this world.When Charles Dickens wrote these tragic lines he was penning fact, not fiction. He had visited the condemned cells at the infamous prison at Newgate, where seventeen men who had been sentenced to death were awaiting news of their pleas for mercy. Two men stood out: James Pratt and John Smith, who had been convicted of homosexuality. Theirs was an unnatural offence, a crime so unmentionable it was never named. That was why they alone despaired and, as the turnkey told Dickens, why they alone were dead men.The 1830s ushered in great change in Britain. In a few short years the government swept away slavery, rotten boroughs, child labour, bribery and corruption in elections, the ban on trades unions and civil marriage. They also curtailed the bloody code that treated 200 petty crimes as capital offences. Some thought the death penalty itself was wrong. There had not been a hanging at Newgate for two years; hundreds were reprieved. Yet when the King met with his hanging Cabinet, they decided to reprieve all bar James and John. When the two men were led to the gallows, the crowd hissed and shouted.In this masterful work of history, Chris Bryant delves deep into the public archives, scouring poor law records, workhouse registers, prisoner calendars and private correspondence to recreate the lives of two men whose names are known to history – but whose story has been lost, until now. FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Author Biography Chris Bryant has been the Member of Parliament for Rhondda since 2001. He was Deputy Leader of the House of Commons and Minister for Europe in the last Labour government, and has been Shadow Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport and Shadow Leader of the House of Commons. The author of six previous books, he has written regularly for the Guardian and the Independent, and has appeared on every major TV and radio news and current affairs programme. He was the first gay MP to celebrate his civil partnership in the Palace of Westminster. Bryant currently serves as the Chair of the Committees on Standards and Privileges. Review Between 1806 and 1835, 404 men were sentenced to death for sodomy in England, of whom 56 were hanged and many more transported. In his meticulously researched James and John, the politician and historian Chris Bryant explores the proceedings against Pratt and Smith, as well at the social attitudes and legal codes in what he dubs "an era of spectacularly cruel and bloodthirsty prejudice" . . . Bryant does an excellent job of tracking down the two men … The trial is the centrepiece of the book and Bryant describes it in painful detail * Spectator *Thanks to one resourceful Old Bailey court record-keeper and a good dose of archival zeal, in his new book Bryant uncovers the story of James Pratt and John Smith, the last men in England to be hanged for being gay. The resulting work is an insight into a supposedly enlightened era - of slavery abolitionists and the Great Reform Act. Bryant meticulously stitches together the reality beneath . . . With its courtroom denouement and Dickensian setting, TV commissioners will take note * New Statesman *Bryant has rescued Pratt and Smith from the rubbish dump of history . . . Combining [a detailed account of Pratt and Smiths trial] with a richly detailed portrait of the more squalid and miserable aspects of Georgian London, Bryant has assembled a tragic story that is as shocking as it is pathetic . . . Without any unnecessary melodrama, Bryant evokes the horrors of Newgate Prison and elucidates a judicial process heavily weighted against the defence . . . Bryant never lets outrage get the better of him, and his unaided archival research has been exemplary -- Rupert Christansen * Telegraph *Carefully observed, rich in detail, imaginative, compassionate and angry. A raw, unexpected portrait of Britains grandeur, wealth, energy, cruelty and hypocrisy in the Age of liberalism -- Rory StewartBryants new campaigning book is the product of exhaustive archival searches, many of them made online during lockdowns, and is a serious contribution to social history of the most disturbing kind * Church Times *A vibrant and honourable retelling of early 19th-century gay history. Bryant simply and clearly underscores the essential humanity of James and John – and in so doing emphasises our common dignity in the face of overwhelming and anonymising systems of power and governance * Irish Times *This is a shocking story of prejudice and injustice, told in meticulous detail by Chris Bryant. A must-read for all who want to understand the deep roots of homophobia in British history -- Keir StarmerA heart-breaking account of a grave injustice and the social climate of homophobic prejudice that made it possible -- Peter TatchellThis is the best kind of angry history: meticulously researched, vividly written, deeply humane and making an utterly compelling case. It keeps faith with the dead, and in doing so gives us something to celebrate, fervently, in the present -- Ronald HuttonLaw can be weaponised for the cruelest of purposes - a political lesson we should never forget. Here, Chris Bryant provides a powerful indictment of Britains persecution of gay men, including the use of the death penalty, and the legacy of how such laws live on in many of our former colonies. This is a brilliant telling of a shameful part of our history -- Baroness Helena Kennedy KCJames and John is a timely reminder of the stories the powerful would rather we forgot -- Shami Chakrabarti, human rights lawyer Promotional From acclaimed historian and MP Chris Bryant, James and John tells the story of what it meant to be gay in early 19th-century Britain through the lens of a landmark trial. Promotional "Headline" From acclaimed historian and MP Chris Bryant, James and John tells the story of what it meant to be gay in early 19th-century Britain through the lens of a landmark trial. Feature Bryant draws on fresh archival evidence to conduct his research into the lives of Pratt and Smith as well as the conditions under which the vast majority of people lived in 19th-century Great Britain Details ISBN1526644975 Author Chris Bryant Short Title James and John Language English ISBN-10 1526644975 ISBN-13 9781526644978 Format Hardcover Year 2024 Publication Date 2024-02-15 UK Release Date 2024-02-15 Imprint Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Place of Publication London Country of Publication United Kingdom NZ Release Date 2024-02-15 Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Audience General AU Release Date 2024-04-29 Subtitle A True Story of Prejudice and Murder Pages 336 DEWEY 941.07086642 We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:160137703;

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