THEY HANGED MY SAINTLY BILLY.

London:: Cassell, , (1957). Hardcover first edition -. Very good in very good dust jacket (usual toning to the pages, small chip to front cover of dj) . First printing. A reconstruction of the life of William Palmer (1824-1856): surgeon, racehorse owner.a confessed forger who got girls into trouble, doped horses, robbed a few people, but was he a poisoner? Palmer, also known as the Rugeley Poisoner or the Prince of Poisoners, was found guilty of murder in one of the most notorious cases of the 19th century. Charles Dickens called Palmer "the greatest villain that ever stood in the Old Bailey". He was convicted for the 1855 murder of his friend John Cook, and was executed in public by hanging the following year. It was claimed he had poisoned Cook with strychnine, and he was suspected of poisoning several other people including his brother and his mother-in-law, as well as four of his children who died of "convulsions" before their first birthdays. Palmer made large sums of money from the deaths of his wife and brother after collecting on life insurance, and by defrauding his wealthy mother out of thousands of pounds, all of which he lost through gambling on horses. The title with its reference to "saintly Billy" was a comment from his mother, who called William the best of her children and Palmer maintained his innocence to the end. Based on contempory records, trial transcripts, etc. Includes "twenty-three illustrations in the text", taken from 'The Times' Report of the Trial of Wm. Palmer, 1856.' 269 pp.