DAMN HIS BLOOD: BEING A TRUE AND DETAILED HISTORY OF THE MOST BARBAROUS AND INHUMANE MURDER AT ODDINGLEY AND THE QUICK AND AWFUL RETRIBUTION. by Moore, Peter - 2012

London: Chatto & Windus, 2012. 364 pp, 8 3/4" H. B&w illustrations. "The brutal murder of the Reverend George Parker in the secluded village of Oddingley on Midsummer's Day in 1806 gripped everyone from the Home Secretary in London to newspapermen across the country. It was a strange and stubborn case. The investigation lasted more than two decades, involving multiple inquests, judges and coroners, each more determined than the last to solve Oddingley's most gruesome crime - or crimes, as it turned out. (This) is a fascinating glimpse into English rural life at the beginning of the nineteenth century, so often epitomised by the civilised drawing rooms of Jane Austen or the rural idylls of Constable. England was exhausted and nervous, dogged by Pitt's war taxes, mounting inflation and the lingering threat of a French invasion. Violence was rife, particularly in rural communities where outsiders were regarded with deep suspicion. With a cast of characters straight out of Hardy, 'Damn His Blood' is a nail-biting true story of brutality, greed and ruthlessness which brings an elusive society vividly back to life.". First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Near Fine.