William Palmer: The Rugeley Poisoner Collection

Book excerpt: Meet Doctor Death, the First Modern Serial Killer In 1856, Dr. William Palmer made history when he was hanged for poisoning his gambling partner. But it was not his first ride at the murder rodeo. He had also murdered: * His wife * Five of his six children * His mother-in-law * His brother * And numerous others. He murdered for the insurance money. He murdered to avoid paying his gambling losses. He murdered so he wouldn’t have to support his children. Palmer’s trial made legal history. It was the first moved because of publicity, the first to feature expert witnesses, and the first to run 12 days (at a time when murder trials rarely lasted more than a day). “William Palmer, the Rugeley Poisoner Collection,” gathers three books published by Peschel Press in one low price: “The Illustrated Life and Career of William Palmer” was the first “quickie book” published to capitalize on the hottest news story of 1857. Published before the advent of libel laws, it’s full of gossip about Palmer’s family. His father built his fortune by swindling timber from the local lord while his widowed mother had a reputation as a slut. Palmer lived a riotous life as a medical student in London and consorted with criminals and gamblers in the crooked world of horse racing. This book is an eye-opening journey into the seedy underbelly of Victorian Britain. “The Times Report of the Trial of William Palmer” prints the testimony from Palmer’s 12-day trial, with original footnotes that explain draws on other sources (including the Old Bailey transcript) to explain obscure legal issues and tell you who’s lying, who’s fudging the facts, and who’s telling the truth. Many books simply republish badly-scanned PDF versions of the first edition. The Peschel Press edition gives you all the words, and all the facts. “The Life and Career of Dr. William Palmer of Rugeley” is the 1925 biography of Palmer, the first in more than six decades. Written by a Rugeley doctor who interviewed many of the principals in the case, his book adds new facts never seen before, and rounds out the picture of the country doctor who killed. This collected edition contains hundreds of footnotes, reprints of memoirs and essays involving Palmer, and original essay that look at Palmer’s impact on culture. With these three books, true-crime fans can experience early Victorian Britain where money was king, reputations ruled, and where evil lurked in the heart of a benign doctor.