The Murderer of Warren Street
The True Story of a Nineteenth-Century Revolutionary
- Paperback
384 pages
- Release Date
19 February 2019
Summary
Immortalised in Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, this is the true story of a life more remarkable than fiction - Emmanuel Barthelemy - Victorian murderer, barricade fighter and revolutionary.
A DAILY EXPRESS BOOK OF THE YEAR
REVOLUTIONARY. CONSPIRATOR. JAIL-BREAKER. FUGITIVE. DUELLIST. RADICAL. AND KILLER.
ON 8 December 1854, Emmanuel Barthelemy visited 73 Warren Street in the heart of radical London for the very last time. Within half an hour, two men were dead.
…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781786090263 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 1786090260 |
| Author: | Marc Mulholland |
| Publisher: | Cornerstone |
| Imprint: | Windmill Books |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 384 |
| Release Date: | 19 February 2019 |
| Weight: | 271g |
| Dimensions: | 198mm x 127mm x 24mm |
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Critics Review
[A] remarkable book. It’s an extraordinary story, full of incident, drama and dark comedy
[A] remarkable book. It’s an extraordinary story, full of incident, drama and dark comedy * Daily Mail *
The Murderer of Warren Street begins as a penny-dreadful and develops into a dual portrait of London and Paris in an age of discontent, conspiracy and revolution. Our hero (or villain) is Barthélemy, a charismatic mix of Spartacus, the Scarlet Pimpernel and Jean Valjean. The Paris chapters have the ring of Victor Hugo, the London chapters are murkily Dickensian. Is Barthélemy an enigmatic outsider like John Harmon, alias Rokesmith, pulled from the Thames in Our Mutual Friend? Or a skulking, ungovernable menace like Rigaud in Little Dorrit?
Mulholland tells Barthélemy’s story with speed and confidence. As a life, Barthélemy’s has it all: double crossings, sabotaged pistols, secret safe houses, disguises, affairs with Italian actresses, brutal guards, prison breaks, rooftop escapes over icy slates and a French femme fatale who may or may not be a spy.
A Victorian whodunit… Swashbuckling adventure and political thriller… Until now Emmanuel Barthélemy has not taken centre stage – which seems astonishing. Marc Mulholland must have hugged himself with glee when he had the idea. He has done it full justice… A magnificent book. – Francis Wheen * The Oldie *
A biography that begins with a bang… In dealing with this unsympathetic figure, Mulholland proves to be an excellent guide: knowledgeable, fair-minded, and even handed. – Robert Douglas-Fairhurst * Spectator *
The Murderer of Warren Street unravels a real-life Victorian mystery that ended in the last formal duel fought on British soil – but it does much more than that. Mulholland plunges us into the dark world of European socialism, and its cast includes famous figures like Karl Marx and Victor Hugo as well as the sinister yet admirable figure of Barthélémy.
Marc Mulholland deftly interweaves politics and social history, to make The Murderer of Warren Street, and its protagonist, Emmanuel Barthélemy, major players in a depiction of a troubled century, and troubled minds. – Judith Flanders * Author of The Victorian City and The Invention of Murder *
Marc Mulholland’s gripping story brilliantly combines impressive historical knowledge with narrative verve. As his protagonist, the young French revolutionary Emmanuel Barthelemy, shuttles between Paris and exile in London, so Mulholland paints in fine and often comic detail the connections and differences between English and French politics and society in the mid-nineteenth century. – Rosemary Ashton * author of One Hot Summer *
Emmanuel Barthélemy’s true story is worthy of a sensational novel, and is recounted almost novelistically, but also sympathetically – despite appearances, he was a man of honour – in this superbly-researched book… The Murderer of Warren Street serves as a brilliant introduction to Barthélemy’s revolutionary times in France and in Britain; featuring some eminent bit-players – Marx and Engels among them – and steeped in the very different cultural milieus of those two nations. It also carries some resonances for our own terrorised age.’ – Professor Bernard Porter
About The Author
Marc Mulholland
Marc Mulholland is a Professor of Modern History at St Catherine’s College, Oxford University. He specialises in the development of international socialism, the history of political thought, Revolution and modern Ireland. Marc is from County Antrim in Ireland, one of nine children. As his father was a forester he grew up in the woods at Portglenone. He lives in Oxford with his partner, Victoria.
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