The Peculiar Case of the Electric Constable
| Author | : Carol Baxter |
| Publisher | : Simon and Schuster |
| Total Pages | : 416 |
| Release | : 2013-09-01 |
| ISBN-10 | : 9781780742441 |
| ISBN-13 | : 1780742444 |
| Rating | : 4/5 (41 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: John Tawell was a sincere Quaker but a sinning one. Convicted of forgery, he was transported to Sydney, where he opened Australia’s first retail pharmacy and made a fortune. When he returned home to England after fifteen years, he thought he would be welcomed; instead he was shunned. Then on New Year’s Day 1845 Tawell boarded the 7:42 pm train to London Paddington. Soon, men arrived chasing a suspected murderer – but the 7:42 had departed. The Great Western Railway was experimenting with a new-fangled device, the electric telegraph, so a message was sent: a ‘KWAKER’ man was on the run. The trail became a sensation, involving no apparent weapon, much innuendo, and a pious man desperate to save his reputation – and would usher in the modern communication age. Told with narrative verve and rich in historical research, this is a delicious true tale of murder and scientific revolution in Victorian England.
