Pierrepoint: A Family of Executioners

The Story of Britain's Infamous Hangmen

By: Steve Fielding

Narrated by: Norman Gilligan

Length: 10 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Between them, the three men in the fearsome Pierrepoint dynasty executed over 800 people during a career spanning more than half a century. Henry, his brother Thomas, and his son Albert, dispatched some of the most infamous criminals of the 20th century, and in the process earned a public notoriety that followed them throughout their eventful lives.For years, the three men were faced with the task - prestigious to some, horrific to many others - of being the last point of contact for the guilty and condemned. The Pierrepoints executed criminals the nation over before travelling to many countries including Egypt and postwar Germany, where they hanged Nazi war criminals, and gained a reputation as the world's most deadly practitioners of the art of hanging."Pierrepoint: A Family of Executioners" recounts the intriguing stories of the three men and the effect that their macabre occupation had on their personal lives. This definitive guide is filled with shocking inside tales from the official records and diaries kept by the Pierrepoint family. With revealing insights into the intense rivalry between fellow executioners, new light is shed on the menacing world of years gone by.

©2008 John Blake Publishing (P)2013 Prospero Media

A Superb & Accurate Study of a Macabre Subject

The Pierrepoint Family were an interesting bunch as they were known for 'telling a few tales'!

I was brought up in post WWII Great Britain. We still had rationing. Women still cried into their aprons at the mention of Ruth Ellis, the last woman to be 'dispatched' courtesy of the Crown on that horrible wet and foggy July morning in 1955.

The Pierrepoint men, two brother and one son were three of the Queen's executioners. I think that many people would think that it would be some kind of macabre 'calling'. Perhaps it was, in a way but this volume which is so well and accurately written makes it quite plain that not only were the Pierrepoint 'boys' financially motivated but also were all of the other Executioners on 'The List' of available trained and approved executioners.

I have listened to this book a couple of times as I enjoyed the content but I really could not figure out whether I enjoyed the Narrator's style. Initially I could not figure out whether he was reading a book about this serious yet alarming subject or reading a book of nursery rhymes! All of a sudden I had my "AHA!" Moment! The narrator was reading the facts, just the facts. We have to remember that we are listening to 12 hours of very disturbing facts and not some cheap cheesy 50 cent novel.

This book is a journey and an interesting one at that. Especially if you are like me and you follow it up with a little extra reading. Albert Pierrepoint, after spending many years of dispatching criminals to the abyss changed his mind regarding the Death Penalty. Albert eventually became an ardent abolitionist.

I highly recommend this book.

Pierreloing. A Family of Executioners

Disappointing. Just a summary of the three executioners. Thought it would tell more of executions. A little insight into the crimes would have made this book more interesting .

The Hangmen

This book was written a bit differently than what I was expecting from the blurb about the book. I was expecting a biography type story of the men and their lives, instead it is mainly a chronicle of their more famous executions. The time frame of the book is from 1903 to 1956 when the death penalty was revoked. The opening of the book is what I was originally expected, in that, it tells about Henry's application to be an executioner, the process at the time to be come one, the interviews he went too and the training he took. Once he started working as an executioner the story mostly changed to the person to be executed and their crime. Albeit, I did find it interesting and noted how murder has evolved in society over the years. I found the stories in World War One and World War Two intriguing the execution changed from murder to treason. The part of the story covering post WWII war crimes trials and executions were fascinating, I am well versed in the American Nuremburg trials but was unaware of the British War Crime Trials of the concentration camp commandants and guards. I would like to learn more about the trials by the Allied countries and how they decided which country would try what type of war crimes. The last part of the book covered the controversy of the death penalty and Albert's response to it. Steve Fielding did a lot of research to gather the material for this story. Norman Gilligan did a great job of narrating the story.

Reads like an accountant's journal.

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

This is a listing of Pierrepoint's "clients." Very little insight into the man, , his uncle, or his father. Pierrepoint: Executioner was a better read, but neither book opened the door on how it really feels to hang so many men and women.

Would you ever listen to anything by Steve Fielding again?

That would depend on the reviews. I purchased the Pierrepoint book without reading what others had to day. I am not sorry I did, for what it has it is informative, but it missed the mark.

What didn’t you like about Norman Gilligan’s performance?

Nothing, the performance, because of the prose, was stilted and wooden.

Any additional comments?

Pierrepoint was never very forth coming about his profession. I surmise that he would have been content never to have become a person of public acclaim. I choose to believe that in the end the notoriety is what made him give up the business.