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Condition: BRAND NEW
Format: Hardback
ISBN: 9781785788178
Publisher: Icon Books
Overview:
The Poisonous Solicitor by Stephen Bates is a meticulously researched true-crime history that reopens one of the most infamous poisoning cases of the twentieth century. Set in the isolated borderlands between Wales and England, it retells the death of Katharine Armstrong in 1921 and the trial of her husband, Herbert Rowse Armstrong, the only solicitor ever executed in England. Combining archival detail with page-turning narrative, this hardback is essential reading for true-crime fans and history lovers.
About the Book:
On a bleak February morning in 1921, 48-year-old Katharine Armstrong died in the bedroom of her Edwardian villa overlooking the hills of the Welsh borders. Within fifteen months her husband, Hay-on-Wye solicitor Herbert Rowse Armstrong, was arrested, tried, and hanged for poisoning her with arsenic. Stephen Bates returns to the case a hundred years on, reconstructing the claustrophobic atmosphere of a small market town gripped by suspicion and scandal. Drawing on court records, contemporary newspaper reports, and previously overlooked evidence, Bates questions whether Armstrong's guilt was ever truly proven, and explores how the case's ambiguities went on to influence the golden age of detective fiction, including the work of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. The narrative moves between forensic detail and human drama, examining the fallibility of early twentieth-century justice and the fragile line between evidence and assumption. Bates writes with the pace of a thriller while maintaining the rigour of a historian, making this as much a study of Edwardian Britain as it is a courtroom mystery. Readers who enjoy narrative non-fiction that reads like fiction will find plenty to savour, from the eerie domestic setting to the tense unravelling of the trial. It is a story retold for a century, and Bates' account stands out for its balance and freshness.
Key Benefits:
- A gripping, meticulously researched true-crime narrative based on real historical events.
- Written by an award-shortlisted journalist with a strong track record in historical crime writing.
- Explores the links between a real 1920s murder trial and the golden age of detective fiction.
- Ideal for book clubs, history enthusiasts, and true-crime readers alike.
- A thought-provoking look at justice and suspicion in early 20th-century Britain.
About the Author:
Stephen Bates is a British writer and former journalist who spent many years reporting for The Guardian, covering royal, religious, and historical affairs. He has written several acclaimed works of narrative history and true crime, including The Poisoner, and is known for combining rigorous research with vivid, accessible storytelling. His work on historic criminal cases has been recognised with award shortlistings, and he brings a journalist's eye for detail and a historian's patience for evidence to every book.
Why You'll Love This True Crime History:
If you love a real-life mystery with atmosphere, intrigue, and moral complexity, The Poisonous Solicitor delivers a beautifully paced retelling of a case that gripped a nation and helped shape detective fiction as we know it.
Please Note: Cover shown is the UK edition; ISBN and edition are as stated above.
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