A history of everyday crime—murder, assault, fraud, rape, and manslaughter—in this South Yorkshire town famous for railways, mining, and horse racing.
Doncaster has worldwide fame as a railway town. For many years the name was associated with engineering, transport and of course coal. But there is a darker aspect to its history. The sinister side is explored through the research and writing of an experienced crime historian. Sensational tales have been uncovered concerning a variety of dark deeds, including a cloak-and-dagger meeting in an Elizabethan tavern and the murder of a Civil War leader. Over the years the Doncaster district has been the scene of riots, Suffragette militancy, terrible domestic tragedies, sad suicides and brutal murders. The stories here range from the notorious Baccarat Scandal which shocked Victorian society to a betting-room robbery at the races. The author also reminds us about famous criminals associated with the town, as well as a Prince and a hangman, a notorious fraudster, even a London playboy. Shocking, surprising, at times chilling but true, a new layer of the town's social history is now available for the first time; but not for the faint-hearted.
