Inside History Issue 10

10 ISSUE
1
VOLUME
INSIDE
HISTORY
In 1902 "The
Handcuff King"
accepted a
challenge in
blackburn
Failure
could have
ended his
career
prematurely
UK £6.95
US $9.20
EU: 7.70
HOUDINI
vS
HODGSON
BURTON & TAYLOR
CHARLOTTE WHITE TAKES A
CLOSER LOOK AT HOLLYWOOD'S
MOST TURBULENT COUPLE
THE REAL WYATT EARP
MURDERER? GAMBLER?
ENFORCER? SELF-PROMOTER?
WHAT IS THE TRUTH?
DR JOHN WOOLF
TALKS TO INSIDE HISTORY ABOUT
THE WONDERS OF THE VICTORIAN
FREAK SHOW
48 HOURS IN CARLISLE
WE EXPLORE THE HISTORIC CITY OF
CARLISLE AND REVEAL OUR TOP FIVE
THINGS TO DO ON YOUR VISIT

INSIDE
HISTORY
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A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
There comes a time in every magazine's life when changes have to be
made. At Inside History, we have decided to make that change. The
idea of a thematic magazine is now a thing of the past (although there
will be some as specials). Instead, we have opted to morph into a
more general history magazine.
We have decided to do this for numerous reasons but the most
important reason is to continue to give our readers the best historical
content around. This new issue is a testament to that with varied
articles, interviews, a new review section, and of course, our new
travel section dedicated to historical days out and weekends away.
In many respects, this issue is the start of a new dawn for Inside
History as we continue to strive to become one of the UK's best
History magazines. One main reason as to why we are able to do this
is our independence. As an independent magazine, we are in
complete control of what we do and it is all to give you the best
experience in this rather confusing clickbait world where clicks are
king.
Instead, we want to celebrate the best of magazine publishing
complete with creative design, glorious images, and of course, some
of the finest articles around. It has been a difficult journey but I hope
you would agree with me as I say that I believe we are onto something
very special.
So get the kettle on, sit back, relax and unwind as we take you on a
rather new historical experience. I really hope you enjoy our new
magazine and as always please feel free to get in touch. Our door is
always open to you.
N I C K K E V E R N
Editor-in-Chief
ISSUE 10
21
INSIDE
HISTORY
EDITOR
N I C K K E V E R N
DEPUTY EDITOR
36
H A N N A H P R I N G L E
DESIGN
N K D M E D I A
CONTRIBUTORS
Melissa Barndon
Camilla Bolton
Thomas Harding
Alex Hippisley-Cox
Mallory James
Bernard Jones
Nick Kevern
Hannah Pringle
Oliver Webb-Carter
Charlotte White
Dr John Woolf
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British Museum
Curiosity Stream
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CONTENTS
FEATURES
06
12
18
24
28
34
40
44
WHO WAS THE REAL WYATT EARP?
BURTON & TAYLOR: A TIMELESS AND
TROUBLING LOVE STORY
HOUDINI VS HODGSON
FRANCIS AUSTEN: JANE’S SEAFARING
BROTHER
THE DEMERARA UPRISING &
THE ENSLAVED ABOLITIONIST
OF 1823
THE COURT OF MIRACLES
PETER STUMPP: THE WEREWOLF OF
BEDBURG
THE REAL TROJAN WAR?
INTERVIEW
50
DR JOHN WOOLF & THE WONDERS OF
THE VICTORIAN FREAK SHOW
INSIDE REVIEW
56
60
INSIDE BOOKS
WHITE DEBT
THE PATHFINDERS
BLACK GOLD
TUNNEL 29
NOW STREAMING: RED ELVIS: THE
COLD WAR COWBOY
TRAVEL
62
68
HISTORIC WEEKENDER: 48 HOURS
IN CARLISLE
DAY TRIPPER: THE WORLD OF
STONEHENGE AT THE BRITISH MUSEUM

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HISTORY
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@INSIDEHISTORYMAG
@INSIDE__HISTORY

Murderer? Myth-maker?
Self promoter? Enforcer?
WHO WAS THE REAL
WYATT
EARP?
Wyatt Earp will be forever known for his participation in the Gunfight at the O.K Corral but how
much of his legend is actually true? Inside History Editor, Nick Kevern tells us more about the
real Wyatt Earp.
06 INSIDE HISTORY

WYATT EARP
By the time Wyatt Earp had
arrived in Tombstone, Arizona, he
had already made a reputation
for himself as a lawman to be
feared.
The gunfight was over in just over 30
seconds. As the smoke cleared no one at
the time would have given it a second
thought. After all, this was the wild west. A
place where gambling, prostitution and
corruption were rife. What happened on
October 26th 1881, has become one of
the most iconic moments of American
History. The explosive crescendo would
firmly establish a narrative of the lawman
overcoming corrupt men in a lawless
town. The town, and the lawman involved,
would go on to become legends. But how
much of what we know about the Gunfight
at the OK Corral is actually true? As the
legend of Wyatt Earp has continued to
grow, can we really see him as a good cop
in difficult times?
enter the law enforcement profession
before quickly moving on to Dodge City
after seriously beating a man. Whether
he fled to escape any repercussions
we simply do not know.
Dodge City was also known as the
“Wickedest Little City in the West.” Its
fierce reputation required the same in
its police. Earp would go on to become
the assistant Marshall during the busy
cattle ranching periods. Off season, he
would head to Texas and New Mexico
to try his hand at professional
gambling.
It would be in Texas where he would
meet another participant involved at
the Gunfight at the OK Corral. John
Henry Holliday was also known as
“Doc” Holliday due to previous career
in Dentistry. Diagnosed with
consumption, Holliday knew he would
not have long to live. After a failed
dentistry partnership in Dallas, he
would spend the rest of his time
drinking and gambling. The two men
would become lifelong friends...well for
as long as Holliday would live.
Holliday’s imminent death made him
fearless. He knew the illness would kill
By the time Wyatt Earp had arrived in
Tombstone, Arizona, he had already made
a reputation for himself as a lawman to be
feared. This wasn’t to mean that he had a
squeaky clean past. He had left his first
law enforcement job in Missouri following
allegations of mishandling public funds in
1871. Later that same year he was
arrested for stealing horses but the case
never went to trial. He would find work as
an enforcer at a brothel in Illinois before
heading to Kansas. In Wichita he would rehim
eventually but was going to leave
the world on his own terms.
The town of Tombstone was a small
silver mining town in Arizona. With its
new found riches the town was a
heaven for those looking to make
money but with that, it was also a
opportunists paradise. Aside from
those searching for new wealth the
lure was too strong for the likes of
Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday. This was
a town ripe for the taking as the
saloons, brothels and gambling dens
grew.
Moving to Tombstone in 1879, Wyatt
would be joined by his brothers, Virgil
and Morgan. Shortly after, Holliday
would soon join them. Virgil would be
made the Town Marshall a short time
later. The four men would become the
law in this notorious town. In October
1881, the town would pass an
ordinance prohibiting the carrying of
weapons. It would be Virgil’s job as
Town Marshall to enact it. In order to
help him to do it, Virgil deputised his
brothers and Doc Holliday. Soon, the
tempers with some in the town began
to fray.
08 INSIDE HISTORY

WYATT EARP
VIRGIL EARP
MORGAN EARP
WYATT EARP
INSIDE HISTORY 09

WYATT EARP
A caricature of Wyatt Earp after the Sharkey-Fitzimmons fight:
The public was outraged by his decision as referee and
newspapers pilloried him for many weeks afterward.
FAR LEFT: POSSIBLE IMAGE OF
Josephine Sarah Marcus,
common-law wife of Wyatt
Earp
LEFT: Wyatt and Josephine
Earp in their mining camp
near Vidal, California: This
is the only confirmed
picture of the two of them
together.
10 INSIDE HISTORY

It wouldn’t take long before arguments began to erupt.
One pivotal argument took place on the 25th October
between Doc Holliday and Ike Clanton. Clanton had a
reputation as an outlaw and well known for cattle rustling.
A fight would break out between the two men before being
broken up. However, Ike was carrying an illegal weapon
that Virgil had to remove. He would be taken to the judge
in order to face his fine. Infuriated, Ike wanted revenge not
only on Virgil but also the other Earp brothers and
Holliday. He sought out a group of five other cowboys
including his brother Billy and the McLaurys. Defying the
law they announced that they were armed and fully
intended on remaining so.
No one knows who fired first when the two opposing
parties met the next day outside the OK Corral. What we
do know is that Wyatt Earp escaped unharmed. His
brothers and Doc Holliday would be injured but alive. The
same could not be said about the Clantons and McLaurys.
Tom and Frank McLaury were dead as was Billy Clanton.
Ike and the others got away.
There would be consequences. Ike claimed that the Earps
with Holliday shot at unarmed men. This led to the quartet
being arrested themselves accusing them of murder. The
preliminary hearing would last a month where it was
proven that two of the cowboys were in fact, armed. The
trial was thrown out.
Justice had failed Ike Clanton but revenge was still on his
mind following the gunfight. Later in 1881, Virgil Earp was
ambushed and shot. Although Virgil survived, his brother
Morgan would not be so lucky in 1882 when he was killed.
Wyatt, who was now a deputy U.S Marshall formed a posse
determined to bring down those who killed his brother.
Soon there was an arrest warrant out for Wyatt and he fled
to California.
In California, Wyatt and his companion, Josephine Marcus,
laid low. He would support himself through gambling,
training horses and promoting boxing matches. In 1896 he
would even referee the fight between Bob Fitzsimmons
and Tom Sharkey. Controversy would follow Wyatt even in
the ring. Fitzsimmons dominated the fight and knocked
out Sharkey but Wyatt deemed the knock-out blow to be
illegal and awarded the fight to Sharkey. The scandal would
leave another blotch on his eventful life.
Wyatt Earp was the last surviving participant of the
gunfight at the OK Corral, passing away in his home on the
29th of January 1929. After his death he would be
portrayed as the heroic lawman we know today, thanks
largely to Stuart Lake’s 1931 book, “Wyatt Earp: Frontier
Marshall”. The book became the key source used for the
Hollywood films that we know today. Wyatt was also
involved in the making of many early westerns as a
consultant. Here, he would tell stories of the old west to
others. How much was actually true is unknown, but it
would allow Wyatt to tell his own story and in doing so,
become a legend of the Wild West. IH
O.K. Corral in Tombstone,
Arizona after a fire in 1882.
INSIDE HISTORY 11

Words: Charlotte White
Charlotte White studied Film at the
University of Westminster, is an author and
presenter. She contributes regularly to
popular podcast History Hack, specialising
in Classic Hollywood and 17th Century
England.
A Timeless
and
Troubling
Love Story
BURTON
MUSIC
TAYLOR
&
12 INSIDE HISTORY

INSIDE HISTORY 13

BURTON & TAYLOR
“I didn’t feel immoral then,
though I knew what I was doing,
loving Richard, was wrong… I
couldn’t help loving Richard”.
ELIZABETH TAYLOR
When Richard Burton and Elizabeth
Taylor met on the set of Cleopatra their
director Joe Mankiewicz told his producer
in no uncertain terms, “Liz and Burton are
not just playing Anthony and Cleopatra!”
On their first day of filming in September
1961, Richard whispered, “You’re much
too fat, luv, but I admit you do have a
pretty face.” Far from being insulted,
Elizabeth laughed. They would never be a
dull pairing, their wit Shakespearian, their
arguments as legendary as their romance.
Elizabeth’s poor health and poor
timekeeping made this a problematic
shoot, and a culture of heavy drinking did
not help matters. Richard arrived so
hungover on the day they filmed their first
scene together that she had to hold his
coffee for him to drink it but, for all their
dysfunction, there was magic when the
cameras rolled. Their first on-screen kiss
was so passionate that it continued
despite cut being called repeatedly.
Though encouraging the affair was a risky
strategy, Mankiewicz wrote new dialogue
to capitalise on it. Anthony says,
“Everything that I want to hold or love or
have or be is here with me now.”
Cleopatra replies, “What I feel I should
have felt long ago when I was very
young, when I could say to myself that
this was how love was...” Both Burton
and Taylor were married, Elizabeth to
her fourth husband having already
been dragged through the press for
adultery.
When Elizabeth married Conrad ‘Nicky’
Hilton in 1950, she was just eighteen
and her wedding dress made by the
costume department at MGM, her
studio home since the age of ten.
Highly publicised dating was MGM’s
preferred method for transitioning
former child stars into adult roles but
conditioned in scripted romance,
Elizabeth equated marriage with
happily ever after. Within days, Nicky
started beating her.
In 1952, she married Michael Wilding,
an older actor who she divorced in
1957 when the father- figure novelty
wore off. She seemed to have it all
figured out when she married
producer Mike Todd later that year; he
was passionate and fun, but he died in
a plane crash in 1958. Widowed at
twenty- six she sought comfort in her
husband’s married best friend, Eddie
Fisher who she wed in 1959. When
attacked by Hedda Hopper for
stealing Debbie Reynolds' husband,
Elizabeth famously replied “What do
you expect me to do? Sleep alone?”
Hearing rumours that Elizabeth was
homewrecking again, paparazzi
swarmed about the couple and the
Vatican denounced their relationship
in the press.
Burton and Taylor represent the
beginning of a societal shift from the
morality of the 1940s and 1950s –
perpetuated in Hollywood through
the Production Code – to the sexual
liberation of the 1960s and 1970s,
which would take the last of the
Studio System down with it. The
studios had been able to control their
stars with the inclusion of a ‘morality
clause’ in their contract, misbehaviour
penalised by loss of earnings. By her
continued box office appeal despite
repeated moral transgressions,
Elizabeth broke the stick with which
the studios threatened to beat her.
No studio could afford to sack
Elizabeth Taylor while the public paid
to see her.
14 INSIDE HISTORY

BURTON & TAYLOR
INSIDE HISTORY 15

BURTON & TAYLOR
“I didn’t feel immoral then, though I knew
what I was doing, loving Richard, was
wrong… I couldn’t help loving Richard,”
Elizabeth writes in 1965. This sentiment
was shared by Richard’s older sister
Cecilia who raised him with her own
children in Port Talbot.
Richard Jenkins was born into a mining
family in Pontrhydyfen, South Wales.
When he was two years old, his mother
died and his father absented himself in
his grief. Richard would tell tales of his
father’s drinking and gambling with
affection but, when he was told that his
father had died, he asked “which one?”
He was adopted at seventeen by his
acting teacher, Philip Burton who gave
him his name and nurtured his talent by
having him read Shakespeare up in the
Welsh mountains to strengthen his voice,
the baritone that would become his
trademark.
At twenty-three, and making his name on
the London stage, Richard married Sybil
Williams the girl he would have chosen
had he stayed in Wales. She understood
him, and they had an understanding that
whichever co-star led him astray, he
would always come home to her. To
Elizabeth, she was Octavia and the day of
filming Cleopatra’s meltdown at
Anthony’s marriage coincided with
Richard telling the papers he would
never leave his wife. So violent was her
performance that a doctor had to be
called and Elizabeth’s hand x-rayed for
damage.
True to his word, Richard went home
when filming wrapped but he could not
stop seeing Elizabeth. It was no use
trying to be apart, they needed to be
together, and their respective divorces
were granted in December 1963 and
January 1964.
They married on 15th March 1964 and
the following night after his performance
as Hamlet, Richard took six curtain calls.
Finally, he said, “I would like to quote
from the play… We will have no more
marriages,” and brought the house
down.
Far from being sated by their marriage,
the public was hungrier than ever for the
Burton-Taylors. The week after their
wedding, hundreds of fans clamoured
for them so violently that one
eyewitness described fearing
Elizabeth would be pulled in two.
News outlets fed upon their decadent
lifestyle of private jets, yachts,
priceless artworks, and jewels – so
famous the jewellery that Richard
lavished upon his wife, that two of the
most important diamonds in the
world now bear their names. The
most spectacular being the Krupp
(Elizabeth Taylor) Diamond, 33ct and
flawless bought in 1968 for $305k.
Richard also gave vast sums of money
to his family, friends, Welsh mining
communities, and complete
strangers, but stories of their excess
sold better.
They starred in ten feature films
together, all capitalising upon public
perception of their relationship
– burning passion, violent courtships,
warring spouses. He encouraged her
to push her boundaries as an actress
and though they were a double-act,
their contributions were never
recognised or remunerated equally.
He may have been the great actor,
but she was the star. She won the
OSCAR for her performance in Who’s
Afraid of Virginia Woolf? whilst he was
nominated seven times without
winning. She out-earned him on every
film until she turned forty.
They mirrored each other as much as
they were mirror opposites, both
suffering debilitating back pain but
managing it by opposing means. She
fell from a horse on set at twelve
years old and was under doctors and
prescription medication for the rest of
her life, while he chose to selfmedicate
old injuries with alcohol.
With their acerbic personalities and a
reliance upon drink and drugs, violent
verbal and physical outbursts became
the norm. Elizabeth writes, “Even our
fights are fun… Richard loses his
temper with true enjoyment. It’s
beautiful to watch,” and by all
accounts, their fights were evenly
matched.
Richard provides an insight writing,
“Elizabeth and I both suffer from
feelings of insecurity... What we do
“Even our fights are
fun… Richard loses
his temper with true
enjoyment. It’s
beautiful to watch,”
when we go to parties is drink to kill
the icy isolation.” He worried he was
dull sober. A voracious reader and
quiet scholar by nature, his ability to
quote Shakespearian monologue
from memory made Elizabeth feel
intellectually inferior, having only an
MGM studio school education. She
feared he would tire of her limited
conversation and leave.
To this perfect Molotov cocktail of
insecurities, add a dash of aging
actress deemed too old to play
Anne Boleyn opposite her husband’s
Henry VIII in Anne of the Thousand
Days, and persistent suspicion of his
leading ladies. After leaving Sybil for
her, Richard wore his fidelity to
Elizabeth proudly, so when he did
become attracted to others, he knew
the jig was up. As ever art mimicked
real life and the Burton-Taylor’s final
film together was a TV two-parter
examining the breakdown of a
marriage called Divorce His, Divorce
Hers which aired in February 1973.
On 4th July, a statement issued by
Elizabeth Taylor made the front
pages:
“I am convinced that it would be a
good and constructive idea if Richard
and I are separated for a while,” she
writes. “Maybe we loved each other
too much... But we have been in each
other’s pockets constantly… and I
believe it’s caused a temporary
breakdown of communication. I
believe with all my heart that the
separation will ultimately bring us
back to where we should be – and
that’s together… Wish us well during
this difficult time. Pray for us.” This
‘conscious uncoupling’ was wildly
ahead of its time.
Elizabeth Taylor was granted her first
divorce from Richard Burton in June
1974 but called the following day to
ask him if they had made the right
16 INSIDE HISTORY

decision. They worked separately and dated other people
but were never out of touch. When they met again in
Switzerland in August 1975 Richard writes, “On the third
day, we had a fight. Then we knew we were ourselves
again.” Two days after that, they were engaged and
married in October 1975. By Christmas, it was over again
and when Richard flew to New York in January 1976, he
took his girlfriend Suzy Hunt with him. He did not care
what Elizabeth thought, but she was tired of him and did
not fight to keep him.
The Burton-Taylors were granted their second divorce in
July 1976 and went their separate ways. Richard married
Suzy in August 1976 and Elizabeth married an aspiring
senator in December 1976. Losing herself on the
campaign trail, neither acting nor happy, she sought
comfort in alcohol and food and by the time William
Warner Jr was elected in November 1978, their marriage
was over. She signed on to do a play on Broadway and
used its opening date as motivation to get healthy,
shedding both the weight and the husband by February
1981. Elizabeth Taylor was back.
Elizabeth and Richard met again in February 1982, both
having fresh divorces and more water under the bridge
than most. She was shocked to see his physical
deterioration; his right arm all but useless, the back
injuries, shoulder pains, arthritis, sciatica, and gout taking
their toll on the giant of a man she still loved. She asked
him to star with her in a West End production of Noel
Cowards ‘Private Lives’. Playing a divorced couple staying in
the same hotel with new spouses, Elizabeth could act out
a nightly fantasy in which their characters realise they still
love each other despite themselves.
However, in reality Richard had another girlfriend, and
when Elizabeth refused to release him from his contract to
star in a John Huston movie, he used his weekend off to
marry in Las Vegas. Elizabeth retaliated by becoming
engaged to her current suitor, but she would love Richard
until the day he died.
On 5th August 1984, Richard Burton died suddenly of a
cerebral haemorrhage at the age of fifty-eight.
Elizabeth was inconsolable. She was not permitted to
attend either his funeral or his memorial service by
Richard’s widow for fear of media intrusion, but the
paparazzi got their payday eventually when Elizabeth
visited the wrong cemetery looking for his grave.
This Cleopatra did live on without her Anthony, surviving
him by twenty-seven years in which she loved again but
never the in the same way. When Elizabeth died in 2011 at
the age of seventy-nine, she was buried with Richard’s last
love letter written shortly before his death, which she
received after he was gone.
Burton and Taylor continue to fascinate with their
imperfect love story, its passion aspirational, its violence
anything but. They were Anthony and Cleopatra, George
and Martha, Petruchio and Katharina; Shakespeare himself
putting perfection in Burton’s mouth when he wrote,
“where two raging fires meet together, they do consume
the thing that feeds their fury… Yet extreme gusts will
blow out fire and all.” They could not continue to rage, yet
never truly burned out, and remain smouldering together
upon the screen for all time, their love story timeless, and
troubling. IH
INSIDE HISTORY 17

Of all the towns Harry Houdini visited
during his career, there was one that
he would come to dislike the most. In
1902, William Hope Hodgson would take
on a challenge set by the great
escapologist. It would be a night no one
in the town of Blackburn, lancashire,
would ever forget.
HOUDINI
VS
Hodgson

HOUDINI VS HODGSON
"Back to this wretched town. Of
all the hoodlum towns I ever
worked, the gallery is certainly
the worst".
HARRY HOUDINI
Houdini loved a challenge. In fact, he
had made a entire career from them. In
the early days of his career the premise of
his challenges were a simple one for “the
handcuff king”. Wherever he went, he
urged the local community to find a set of
locks that they believed he could never
escape from. Every time, he would. The
audience simply loved it. It would become
the gimmick he would be famed for as he
travelled from theatre to theatre. He knew
that the auditorium would be full of
spectators and even those who took on
his challenge in the hope that perhaps,
they would see him fail. And yet, he would
succeed, defying the impossible. These
challenges would put Houdini on the
magical map.
However, in the northern English town of
Blackburn, “the handcuff king” nearly met
his match. It would become a venue that
Houdini would go on the loathe more
than any other he performed at across
the world. It was the night that almost
halted his career after its promising start.
Whilst he would go on to become the
most famous magician in the world,
Blackburn’s challenge could have
prevented the world from knowing the
name of Houdini.
"Being interested in
your apparently
anatomically impossible
handcuff test, I have
decided to take up your
challenge".
William Hope Hodgson took up bodybuilding
since his days as a cabin boy
following years of mistreatment by
other crew members. Moving to
Blackburn to join his family he would
set up a school for body building and
weight lifting.
Houdini would perform at the
Blackburn Palace in October 1902 and
like many of his performances he
would lay down his challenge to those
in the local area. Should he fail to get
out of the locks provided, he would
pay the successful opponent the
princely sum of £25. Upon seeing this
challenge, Hodgson's interest grew.
He knew the physicality that it would
require to escape from the locks and
chains he could provide. Yet despite
Houdini performing at The Palace all
week, Hodgson waited until the Friday
to make his move. He knew that the
galleries would be full that particular
evening with the audience wanting to
see something special. Hodgson wrote:
Mr Harry Houdini.
Sir –
Being interested in your apparently
anatomically impossible handcuff test, I
have decided to take up your challenge
to-night (Friday) on the following
conditions:
1st I bring and use my own irons (so
look out).
2nd I iron you myself.
3rd If you are unable to free yourself,
the £25 to be given to the Blackburn
Infirmary.
Should you succeed, I shall be the first
INSIDE HISTORY 19

Palace Theatre, Blackburn

to offer to offer congratulations. If not,
then the Infirmary will benefit.
W. HOPE. HODGSON
P.S. Naturally, if your challenge is bonafide,
I shall expect the money to be
deposited .
With the challenge laid down by William
Hodgson, all he had to do was to sit back
and wait for Houdini's response. It
wouldn't take long for Houdini to do
exactly that.
I, Harry Houdini, accept the above
challenge, and will deposit the £25 at the
“Telegraph” office. Match to take place tonight
(Friday).
H. HOUDINI
The two men would met on stage in front
of the packed Palace audience. Neither
man would have known that this
moment would go down in local history.
Straight away, Houdini noticed
something particularly odd with the locks
that Hodgson had provided. He raised
his objections aloud suggested that the
locks had been tampered with and
where therefore in violation to the
agreed challenge.
Hodgson responded saying he was
allowed to bring any locks and chains
that he wanted. The audience waited
with baited breath as to whether of not
the challenge would even go ahead.
Eventually, Houdini agreed and Hodgson
began to fasten up his challenger.
The Blackburn Standard gives us the full
details of Houdini's ordeal at the hands
of Hodgson:
"He handcuffed his wrists which he
bound across his chest: and then by
the aid of an assistant, forced his
elbows backwards to his side and
pinioned them, after which he
coupled them up in a very tight
manner to leg irons, and Houdini
looked for all the world like a like
a trussed fowl."
Hodgson received some assistance
causing the crowd to jeer, after all,
this was against the rules set by
Houdini. Yet the "Handcuff King"
allowed the challenge to continue. He
was winning his audience's
sympathies and that would help him
as the challenge continued.
Houdini was then placed into an
empty cabinet. The audience fell silent
with anticipation. Then he began his
attempt to escape. The crowded
auditorium erupted as the sound of
metal on wood filled the theatre.
After fifteen minutes of struggling the
upright cabinet suddenly fell to the
side. The mutters of the audience
turned to confusion and even
concern.
What's happening? Has he fainted or
something? Is this all part of the
show?
The struggle continued. On the hour
mark, Houdini asked if he could be
released for a few moments as he
was losing the feeling in his hands.
The locks were so tight that some
even said that his hands were turning
blue.
For Hodgson, it appeared that he had
defeated the great "Handcuff King.
"Just give up and admit defeat", he
said. But giving up was not in
Houdini's vocabulary. Dr, Bradley was
watching the whole episode unfold
before his very eyes saying that: "it
was cruel for the performance to
continue".
But continue it did.
Hodgson refused Houdini's request.
His struggle recommenced. Shouting
from the cabinet, Houdini proudly
announced that his legs were now
free and that he was going for a short
break. The news received a mixed
reception from the Blackburn crowd.
Some cheered whilst others were
"Ladies and
gentlemen, I have
been in the handcuff
business for fourteen
years but never have I
been so brutally and
cruelly ill-treated".
beginning to become hostile towards
him. Sensing the hostility Houdini
spoke to the audience.
“You must remember, ladies and
gentlemen, I did not state the
time it would take me to take
them off. These handcuffs have
been plugged.”
Having rested Houdini resumed. The
crowd however where becoming
restless. Then Theodore Hardeen,
Houdini's brother approached the
cabinet to offer him a drink. The pair
had previously performed together as
"The Houdini Brothers" in the U.S. It
may have looked at first glance as a
simple drink but perhaps this was
where the real slight of hand
happened. Of course, we will never
know for certain and the audience
were unaware of anything.
With the crowd becoming even
hostile, Hodgson was urged by the
police to leave the theatre.
Then moments later, Houdini was free
from his chains and locks after his
epic struggle. It was now well after
midnight. The crowd roared in
appreciation for what they had
witnessed.
Houdini was raw, bruised and
exhausted following this challenge.
Hodgson had become the man who
took Houdini to the brink. Standing
victorious, Houdini spoke to the
crowd one final time:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I have been in
the handcuff business for fourteen
years but never have I been so
brutally and cruelly ill-treated.
It would be the closest Houdini ever
INSIDE HISTORY 21

came to defeat. It would become the most pivotal moment
of his career.
Blackburn itself would become a place Houdini loathed the
most later saying that "Of all the hoodlum towns I ever
worked, the gallery is certainly the worst". It would be a
constant reminder to him how close he actually came to
failure.
William Hope Hodgson may have lost the battle against
Houdini but that did not prevent him from becoming a
success in his own right. He would move away from the
controversy of plugging locks against Houdini to become
one of Britain's most famous horror and supernatural
authors. The House on the Borderland would become an
instant classic among readers and critics.
Yet, his life would be cut short at the fourth Battle of Ypes
where he was killed by an artillery shell in 1918. He was 40
years old.
Houdini would go on to be the world's most famous
magician. His escapology acts would see him perform in
front of millions and gather worldwide fame. Yet, it all
could have ended earlier with a trip to Blackburn and a
challenge by William Hodgson. IH
Above: Houdini with his brother Theodore Hardeen.
Left: Houdini continues to set Challenges in Salford 1914
INSIDE HISTORY 23

Francis
Austen:
Jane’s Seafaring Brother
MALLORY JAMES

FRANCIS AUSTEN
Sir Francis Austen was born (without
the title) in Steventon, Hampshire in 1774.
He was the fifth son of Revd. George
Austen and the older brother of Jane, who
would arrive the following year. In April
1786, just before his twelfth birthday,
Francis commenced his studies at the
Royal Naval Academy in Portsmouth.
These studies would cost his father
around £50 a year. And although this £50
was unquestionably a large sum at the
time – the Bank of England inflation
calculator suggests this would be in
excess of £8,000 now – joining the Royal
Navy was cheaper than other professions
considered suitable for boys in Francis’
social circles. Commissions in the Army
had to be purchased, for instance. So, for
this reason, and of course plenty of
others, young boys found themselves
launched into a seafaring career.
Nevertheless, in December of that year, it
seems young Francis was still able to
return to the rectory for Christmas. And
he excelled in his education at the
Academy, receiving a glowing
commendation when he left in 1788. He
then joined his first ship, HMS
Perseverance. However, this time, Francis
would not go home for Christmas. In fact,
he would not return to England for
nearly five years.
A life at sea during this time was
fraught with numerous hazards and
struggles. Not least that Francis’ career
ran parallel to the French Revolution
and subsequent Napoleonic Wars. But
many sailors also suffered, and lost
their lives, in consequence of accidents
and disease. The adequate provision
of food was a serious issue. In his later
career, Francis would experiment with
the best way of preserving cheese
during a voyage.
Yet, as the above paragraph suggests,
the distance from home and loved
ones cannot be forgotten. It’s played
out in the letters between Francis and
his own family. Before Francis left on
that first voyage, the Revd. Austen
wrote his teenage son a letter of on
conduct and conscience, as a guide for
all the time he would not be there to
advise him. It included an extortion to
write detailed letters home. But, again,
time and distance mattered. In
November 1798, Francis wrote in a
letter to Jane that he had had no post
from their family for ten weeks. In
October 1800, Jane received a letter
from him that had been written back in
July.
Francis’ life is a way to consider the
lives of officers more widely during this
period, and there were three further
things which played central and
defining roles in shaping naval
experiences: patronage, promotions
and prizes.
The traditional way of starting a boy’s
career in the Royal Navy was to secure
them a place aboard a ship, under the
patronage of its captain. This method
had endured in popularity, even after
the Academy (as attended by Francis)
had been founded as an alternative.
Having the right friends and relations
to secure this placement was naturally
beneficial. And as an officer’s career
progressed, advantageous connections
continued to act as the wind to the
sails for placements and promotions.
For example, long after his time at the
Academy – and only a few months
before the fateful Battle of Trafalgar –
Francis would hand a letter to Lord
Nelson, in which Lord Moira
recommended him for promotion.
26 INSIDE HISTORY

With further reference to promotion, after becoming a
midshipman in 1789, Francis was promoted to lieutenant
in 1792. He was aged eighteen at the time, despite the
regulations requiring lieutenants to be a minimum age of
twenty. Promotion from midshipman to lieutenant also
hinged upon passing a rather daunting verbal exam,
conducted by five senior officers. By the end of the
decade, Francis had been promoted to commander. And
at the start of the next, he was promoted to captain.
However, once an officer had reached the rank of captain,
they joined what was effectively an orderly queue for each
rung on the ladder of ranks, with officers stepping up to fill
the shoes of the one before. It was (generally speaking) a
matter of waiting for one’s turn. Taking Francis’ life as an
example once again, he became a rear admiral in 1830. In
1863 he became Admiral of the Fleet – the most senior
rank of the Royal Navy.
The last great ‘P’ of note is ‘prizes’. When Royal Navy
vessels captured other ships, they were taken as prizes. Its
value was then calculated upon sale, and divided among
the crew. Through winning prize money, a lucky officer
might make his fortune. In Persuasion, Captain Wentworth
gained the fairly substantial sum of £25,000 and elevated
himself to the standing of Very Eligible Bachelor. In 1801,
Charles Austen – who had followed his older brother,
Francis, into the Royal Navy – spent his recent prize money
on purchasing two topaz crosses and gold chains for his
sisters, Jane and Cassandra. Jane, delighting in the finery,
remarked to Cassandra that prize money would do Charles
no good, if he spent it on them.
Francis’ career was also notable by an event he recalled
with regret. In 1805, he missed the Battle of Trafalgar. He
wrote, feelingly, on the subject to his fiancée Mary Gibson.
He also wrote about the loss of Nelson, believing that he
would not meet such a man again. Francis and Mary were
married in 1806, and in family letters – penned by Jane –
teasingly threatened to choose furniture for their home
that Cassandra wouldn’t like.
Francis’ career changed course shortly before the
conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, spending thirty years
ashore and on half-pay. After the death of Mary in 1823,
Francis married Martha Lloyd (a close friend of both Jane
and Cassandra) in 1828. In 1830, he purchased Portsdown
Lodge, near Portsmouth. He had been appointed a
Companion of the Order of Bath in 1815, then becoming a
Knight Commander in 1837 and a Knight Grand Cross in
1860. Aged ninety-one, Francis died at Portsdown Lodge in
August 1865. The letter from his father, written all those
years before at the very start of his naval career, was still
amongst his papers. IH
Mallory James studied for her undergraduate
degree in History and German at University
College London, before moving to postgraduate
study at Queen Mary University of London. She is
the author of Elegant Etiquette in the Nineteenth
Century published by Pen & Sword Books
Jane Austen
Welcomed as a
companion to her
older sister Cassandra,
Jane was born in
December 1775. She
would later go on to
become an author of
lasting fame. Her
novels Portrait included of Gabriel Nicolas a de La Reynie (1625-1709) Lieutenant
General of Police of Paris during the reign of Louis XIV.
number of naval
characters, such as
Captain Frederick Wentworth in Persuasion and
Midshipman (later Lieutenant) William Price in
Mansfield Park. Though, prior to this, she had
dedicated some of her earlier writings to her brother
Francis, while he was serving away as a midshipman
on HMS Perseverance. She died in July 1817 – aged
forty one – with Francis among the mourners at her
funeral in Winchester.
Charles Austen
Born in June 1779, and the
youngest of the Austen’s
children, Charles followed
his elder brother to the
Royal Naval Academy in
1791. He served aboard,
and later commanded, a
number of vessels. This
included HMS Phoenix,
which was wrecked
in 1816. Charles was
brought before a court
martial for this loss, and
honourably acquitted.
He eventually attained
the rank of rear admiral
in November 1846, and
died of cholera aboard
HMS Flute in 1852.
INSIDE HISTORY 27

THE
DEMERARA
UPRISING &
THE ENSLAVED ABOLITIONIST
OF 1823
THOMAS HARDING

DEMERARA
The enslaved, outnumbered the
Europeans more than thirty to one. To
control the population, the white
managers and overseers believed they
had to use the very harshest measures,
including stocks, the whip and jail.
At 6.30 pm on 18th August 1823, Jack
Gladstone walked up to the large bell that
hung at the centre of the sugar plantation,
and rang it. This was the signal for the
start of the uprising, that would become
the largest revolt against British slavery up
to that point.
Jack Gladstone was twenty-eight years old
and was enslaved on the Success
plantation, an estate located on the
Atlantic coast of the British colony of
Demerara, now Guyana. He worked as a
cooper making hogsheads, the enormous
barrels that transported the sugar back to
Liverpool. His job included delivering
these barrels to the port in Georgetown,
the capital, twenty miles down the coast.
This meant that Jack was able to travel
outside of the plantation which was
unusual. Most enslaved men and women
would be severely punished if they left
their estate without permission. It was in
Georgetown that Jack likely first heard of
the remarkable news, that the King of
England had sent a letter to the governor
of Demerara, John Murray, calling for the
amelioration of slavery.
In 1823, slavery was very much still legal in
the British Empire. There were more than
650,000 people enslaved in the British
Caribbean. The slave trade had been
abolished sixteen years earlier, in
1807, but this did not prohibit the
forced work of enslaved people on
plantations nor the selling of enslaved
people between British colonies. It was
also still possible to purchase enslaved
women, men and children at the
Vendue, or slave auction, that took
place regularly in Georgetown.
Of the more than 70,000 enslaved
people living in Demerara at this time,
more than half were born in Africa.
They therefore remembered their
homelands and what it was like to be
free. There were approximately 2,500
Europeans living in the colony, along
with about the same number of mixedrace
people and an unknown number
of indigenous people. The enslaved,
therefore, outnumbered the
Europeans more than thirty to one. To
control the population, the white
managers and overseers believed they
had to use the very harshest
measures, including stocks, the whip
and jail. According to some sources,
average life expectancy was as short as
five years for those who worked on the
sugar estates.
For much of the 18th century,
Demerara had been a Dutch colony.
For decades, control shifted between
Amsterdam and London. The matter
was finally settled in 1804 and the
colony became part of the British
Empire. Though the sovereign was
now King George IV, the colony
continued to be governed under
Dutch law and the currency was the
Dutch guilder. The law was
administered by a court of policy,
headed by the governor, and order
was enforced by the British militia.
When Jack Gladstone had first heard
about the King’s letter, he had
approached his father, Quamina. They
agreed that they should wait and see
if the instructions from London would
be implemented. If not, they would
take action. After two weeks, there
was still no word from the governor or
the court of policy. Quamina had
spoken to John Smith, the missionary
who ran the church that Jack and his
father attended on the next-door
estate, Le Resouvenir. Smith said that
he had also heard about the letter
30 INSIDE HISTORY

DEMERARA
INSIDE HISTORY 31

DEMERARA
from the King but cautioned patience, suggesting that the
governor would in time announce changes. But none
came.
This was why Jack was now ringing the bell. Within minutes,
more than forty men and women gathered around him.
For days, they had been preparing for this. It was time to
act, Jack said, time to seize the estates, time to win their
freedom. They first removed the guns, cutlasses and
ammunition from the estate’s storehouse. They had
previously agreed that they would pursue non-violent
tactics, by seizing their oppressor’s weapons they would
protect themselves against future attack. Next, Jack sent a
small group to find the estate’s overseer and manager and
place them in the stocks. With this accomplished, they had
control of the first plantation. Jack led the group of
enslaved abolitionists – for that is what they were, enslaved
men and women who wished to abolish slavery – along the
public road that ran along the coast, taking control of one
plantation and then the next.
Early on the morning of Wednesday 20th August, more
than 4,000 enslaved abolitionists gathered in the cotton
field near the shoreline by Bachelor’s Adventure estate. A
small few had rifles, the vast majority were armed with only
sticks and other hand-made weapons. By this point more
than thirty estates had been seized across the colony with
between 12,000 and 15,000 people taking part. By any
measure, the uprising had exceeded expectations.
Yet, all that had been achieved was about to be tested. In
front of the abolitionists, on the other side of the dusty
public road, was lined up two hundred soldiers from the
British Militia. Lieutenant Colonel John Thomas Leahy now
trotted out to meet with Jack, it was a parley. When Leahy
asked what the enslaved people wanted, Jack said their
freedom. His comment was met by loud cheers of support.
Leahy said this was impossible and that Jack and his
comrades must immediately surrender, or he would be
forced to take extreme measures. Jack repeated his
demands. Leahy then retreated to his men.
Most of all, he had Tupaia’s help when he met wary
islanders in other archipelagos. With Tupaia mediating,
these encounters went smoothly.
A tense silence hung between the two lines. The militia
kept their rifles trained on their targets across the public
road. The abolitionists held their ground. Thirty minutes
came and went. Nothing happened. And then Leahy called
the order: ‘Right face, march!’ The line of soldiers headed
towards the abolitionists, stopping less than fifty yards
away. ‘You Negroes,’ the colonel shouted, ‘I ask you once
more, in the governor’s name, will you lay down your arms
and go to your work?’ Those around Jack yelled out, ‘No!’
and ‘We fight for freedom.’ The colonel shouted, ‘Fire!’ The
sound of gunpowder exploding in a hundred rifles filled
the air. Scores of men and women collapsed in the cotton
Depiction of battle at "Bachelor's Adventure", one of the major confrontations during the rebellion
32 INSIDE HISTORY

field, screaming in pain, clutching at their wounds.
Meanwhile, the militia front row reloaded while the men
behind stepped forward and fired. Another hundred
bullets were let loose. In less than fifteen minutes it was
over. More than two hundred abolitionists were dead. It
had been a bloodbath. Those able to escape had fled.
Meanwhile, the militia kept loading and shooting, loading
and shooting, loading and shooting.
Jack had managed to flee the carnage. Evading his
pursuers, he skirted the shoreline and made his way back
to Success. A few hours later, he headed for the bush
behind the plantation, along with his father and eighteen
others. There they hid for the next few weeks, regrouping
and plotting their next step. Meanwhile, the British Militia
went from estate to estate clearing out the rebels. More
than 200 abolitionists were captured and then, following
the briefest of questioning, lined up in the fields and shot.
Fifty of the ringleaders were taken to Georgetown where
they were later tried and hanged. Their heads then cut off
and affixed to poles as a warning to other would-be rebels.
Amongst those found guilty and sentenced to death was
John Smith, the English missionary who abhorred slavery
and had supported his congregants.
the anti-slavery movement had experienced a collapse in
public support. To many, the argument had long been
won, even though more than 650,000 people remained
enslaved in the Caribbean. This all changed when news
arrived back in England of the uprising and the public
learned of the appalling conditions endured by the
enslaved men and women in Demerara. Soon, a massive
petition campaign was in full swing. Members of
Parliament were bombarded by letters demanding a full
end to slavery in the Empire. A two-day debate took place
in the House of Commons, calling for a review of the court
martials that had taken place in Georgetown, particularly
the fate of John Smith.
Ten years after the uprising, the Slavery Abolition Act was
finally passed. In August 1834, slavery was outlawed across
the British Empire. And while colonial exploitation
continued, including a period of apprenticeship and later a
system of indentureship, the abolition of slavery marked a
significant step towards freedom, not only for those
enslaved, but for all of us. As such, Jack Gladstone and the
other enslaved abolitionists should be remembered for
their heroic efforts. IH
In early September, Jack’s father Quamina was hunted
down and shot. He had offered no resistance. His body
was strung up on a gibbet next to the entrance of Success,
again a sign from the British colonists that they would not
tolerate any form of resistance. A few days later, Jack found
himself in the main hall of Colony House in Georgetown
facing a court martial. Every member of the court martial
(equivalent to a jury) had served in the British militia, the
same force that had recently suppressed the uprising. The
president of the court martial was Lieutenant Colonel
Stephen Arthur Goodman who for the past two years had
been the colony’s vendue master. As such, the man
presiding over Jack’s trial was also the man in charge of the
valuation, sale and transfer of enslaved people in
Demerara. The proceedings were unlikely to be objective.
Without the assistance of any lawyer, Jack had to defend
himself. He was responsible for preparing his legal
strategy, examining witnesses, and providing evidence.
From the surviving records, it is clear that he did well.
Despite the overwhelming odds, he persuaded the court
that his efforts had been rational, that there had been a
letter sent from London which had called for the
amelioration of the slave conditions and that these
instructions had not been implemented by the governor.
The anger towards him and his fellow abolitionists,
however, was too much. The court martial found him guilty
and sentenced him to hang. In the end, partly because of
his numerous efforts to prevent violence against the
colonists, the governor gave Jack clemency. What exactly
happened to Jack is not known, but he was likely deported
to the Island of St Lucia, to spend the rest of his life
working in hard labour.
The Demerara uprising had significant consequences. Ever
since the successful abolition of the slave trade in 1807,
Georgetown’s monument to the Demerara Uprising
Thomas Harding is a bestselling writer whose
books have been translated into more than 16
languages. He is the author of The House by the
Lake: A Story of Germany and Blood on the
Page: A Murder, a Secret Trial, and the Search
for the Truth, which won the 2018 Gold Dagger
Award. His latest book is White Debt: The
Demerara Uprising and Britain’s Legacy of
Slavery
INSIDE HISTORY 33

THE
Court of
Miracles
Melissa Barndon

COURT OF MIRACLES
"Contemporary images of 17th century Paris
may have focused on grandiose buildings
and richly dressed ladies promenading in
the Jardin des Tuileries, but the reality was
that up to 30,000 Parisians lived in
miserable, unsanitary conditions in a
number of slum areas".
As the people of Paris slept through
the night of 23 February 1653, the
aristocrats were amusing themselves at
the Ballet Royal de la Nuit held at the
palace of the Louvre. This sumptuous
performance showcased a night in Paris,
with the elite playing the roles of thieves
and beggars. And as the sun rose so too
did a young Louis XIV, performing as
Apollon, resplendent and dazzling in gold,
to finish the performance and defeat the
unfortunate creatures of this criminal
underworld. He would bring his forces
together to do the same thing, only this
time in real life slums, a mere 14 years
later.
17th century Paris under Louis XIV was
booming. The Pont Neuf across the Seine
river was a busy thoroughfare for
pedestrians and carriages, the Île Saint
Louis was a hive of new construction, and
Louis XIV’s insistence on French-made
fabrics meant that the fashion industry
was thriving. Paris was the place to be,
especially if you had money. And if you
didn’t have money, Paris was the place to
find it. Peasants from all parts of France
streamed into the narrow and crooked
streets of the capital to make their
fortune.
Unfortunately, many of them ended up
as destitute as when they arrived, and
were forced to turn to begging or
thievery just to survive. Contemporary
images of 17th century Paris may have
focused on grandiose buildings and
richly dressed ladies promenading in
the Jardin des Tuileries, but the reality
was that up to 30,000 Parisians lived in
miserable, unsanitary conditions
in a number of slum areas.
But there was a rather peculiar nightly
occurrence in one of these shady
underworlds. As the crippled or blind
or wounded beggars limped through
the narrow passageway, they threw
away their canes or regained their
sight; it was a miracle! And thus some
slum areas came to be ironically
known as a Cour des Miracles, a Court
of Miracles. There were several of
these, shadowy nooks, crannies and
corners where beggars or thieves
congregated, but the largest and most
famous was the one located between
Rue Montorgeuil and Rue Saint-Denis,
next to the now disappeared Filles de
Dieu convent.
According to historian Henri Sauval,
writing around 1660, the Court of
Miracles was as old as beggars
themselves: ‘Formerly at the
extremities of Paris, now in one of the
most poorly built, dirtiest and remote
districts of Paris, it is a large,
misshapen, unpaved cul de sac,
entered through a long slope of
winding, rough and uneven ground. It
is very easy to get lost in the nasty,
malodorous streets’. Whilst the royal
night ballet of 1653 may have
‘represented the tenants of the Cour
des Miracles by a serenade and
pleasant postures’, for Sauval the
reality was much different. ‘I saw a
mud house half buried tottering with
old age and rot, lodging fifty
households and an infinite number of
children, either legitimate, natural or
stolen. Girls and
women prostituted themselves for 2
farthings. Some double that, some for
nothing at all’.
Entry was made at your own risk. In
1630, masons who were attempting
to build a new road through the court
were beaten and threatened, and any
commissioner who tried to collect
taxes or rent left there empty handed,
36 INSIDE HISTORY

COURT OF MIRACLES
Engraving representing "the great Coësre", extracted from the Collection of the most illustrious proverbs divided into three books: the first contains the
moral proverbs, the second the joyful and pleasant proverbs, the third represents the life of the beggars in proverbs, Jacques Lagniet, Paris, 1663.
INSIDE HISTORY 37

COURT OF MIRACLES
with only injuries to show for their
troubles. It was a godless place, with no
faith or law, although someone had
apparently stolen a religious statue from
a nearby church at some time in the
past, which sat in a niche at the end of
the court. Monks occasionally traversed
the court, but it was usually for a wellorchestrated
performance of a new
‘miracle’ which resulted in a windfall for
both church and beggar.
Sauval’s descriptions painted a detailed
picture of the organised world of this
criminal element. The beggars or
argotiers (named because they used
their own slang, or argot) paid homage to
their own king, the Grand Coësre, who
wore a crown of plasters and a Harlequin
cloak of every colour. These were skilled
beggars; ulcers, wounds and vicious
looking sores were faked using a
concoction of milk, blood and flour, and
experienced argotiers kept a store of
masks, plasters, bandages and rags of
one thousand colours on hand for rapid
changes in appearance.
The argotiers were distinguished by the
type of beggary they practised:
Orphelins - young boys who assumed
the role of abandoned children and
slipped into houses for the purpose of
carrying off whatever fell into their
hands.
Marcandiers - pretended to be
merchants ruined by the wars and asked
for alms.
Rifodes - begged by means of forged
certificates.
Malingreux - counterfeited maladies,
simulating the most disgusting afflictions.
Capons - begged in the streets and the
cabarets.
Piètres - fraudulent cripples, walking
with the aid of crutches.
Polissons - a variety of capons, and
effected their purposes through
intimidation.
Francs-mitous - acted as if they were
dying of hunger, they fell fainting with
weakness in the middle of the streets.
Callots - pretended to be recently cured
of the scurf (scrofula).
Hubains - exhibited a certificate setting
forth that, having been bitten by a mad
dog, they had been cured by the
intercession of Saint-Hubert.
Saboleux - false epileptics who
simulated convulsions by means of
soap placed between their lips which
made a froth.
Caurtaux de boutange - beggars in
winter, shivered with cold under their
rags.
Drilles, or narquois - begged in
military uniform and said they had
received wounds in battle.
Sauval recounts the story of one
swollen-bellied malingreux
supposedly overcome with dropsy,
whose sorry plight earned him a hat
filled with coins from passers-by. A
kindly surgeon took him into his shop
only to find the chap had something
of a blockage in his - ahem - entrance,
and when it was removed the ‘wind
blew out in such great quantity that
the whole shop was filled with a foul
odour which infected children who
had followed the evil one’.
The other half of the Court of Miracles
were the wicked thieves. The pursecutters,
or coupeurs de bourse, were
expected to produce two
‘masterpieces’ in the presence of
master thieves before they were
allowed to join a company. Firstly,
they would be beaten until they could
cut a purse attached to a rope with
bells without making a sound.
Secondly, they were taken to a
crowded public place such as the
Cimetière des Innocents, where a
target such as a woman kneeling
before a statue of the Virgin Mary with
her purse hanging loosely by her side
would be identified. In full view, the
want-to-be thief would brazenly steal
the purse. When the crowd came to
the target’s rescue, the other purse
cutters would rapidly surround them
and empty all waiting purses and
pockets.
Filthy thieves and vagabonds in dark
infested corners did not exactly
match the vision of Paris enjoyed by
the Sun King, named after his
ravishing performance in the ballet of
1653. The Paris of Louis XIV was the
fashion and architectural capital of
Europe, not the seedy underbelly
epitomised by the Cour des Miracles.
He detested the stench and noise of
"You are all
outlaws, and I can
kill you; but I don't
want to shed your
blood".
the capital, and an undisciplined
population was more likely to rebel. In
1656, archers and commissioners
forced their way inside the crooked
cul-de-sac and arrested a large
number of its inhabitants who were
subsequently imprisoned,
hospitalised or released. A harsh
1662 edict issued by the parlement
of Paris ordered ‘all sword-bearing
vagabonds, all non-native beggars’ to
return to the place of their birth, or
face ‘whipping and fleur-de-lis against
the able-bodied, hardships against
the crippled, and, against women,
whipping and being publicly shaved’.
But the problem remained.
Determined to purge the streets of
Paris of bare-faced thieves and
unsightly beggars, the king created
the post of Lieutenant General of
Police in 1667 and in the position
installed an ambitious counsellor by
the name of Gabriel Nicolas de la
Reynie. One of Reynie’s first tasks was
a clean sweep of the ‘barbarians’ in
the Court of Miracles. Putting himself
at the head of a regiment of Swiss
Guards, 150 foot soldiers and one
squadron of constabulary, the walls
surrounding the court were breached
and the combined forces entered.
Despite utilising their best weapons -
boos, insults, wild cries, dreadful
obscenities, stones, mud, rubbish,
rubble, spit, iron rods, knives, daggers,
old rapiers, blunderbusses, crutches
and guns (according to an 1847
history of the Parisian police) - the
rampaging mob were quickly overrun.
According to Reynie’s own account of
the day, he preferred to use wit rather
than force, and told the besieged
beggars: ‘You are all outlaws, and I
can kill you; but I don't want to
shed your blood. I did make three
breaches in your wall of wood and
mire: I give you the right to go out, to
escape, to hang yourself a little
38 INSIDE HISTORY

Victor Hugo would use a
highly sensationalised
version of the court as
the setting for his wellknown
novel The
Hunchback of Notre
Dame.
Portrait of Gabriel Nicolas de La Reynie (1625-1709) Lieutenant
General of Police of Paris during the reign of Louis XIV.
further. Only the last twelve of you, the twelve stragglers
whom I shall surprise in the square, will be immediately
hanged’. There were no records of any hangings so luckily
for the miserable inhabitants it appeared to have been a
relatively peaceful eviction. Unfortunately, their misshapen,
haphazard and ‘disgusting infirmary’ was burned to the
ground.
Whilst there is no doubt the Court of Miracles existed, as
evidenced by its inclusion on 17th-century maps,
historians now doubt whether it was in fact a highly
organised society with its own distinct language. French
historian Roger Chartier believes the only real evidence we
have for the existence of the argotiers is from Henri
Sauval’s account, which has been taken literally as a
reflection of social reality. While Sauval may in fact have
visited this particular slum area and could describe its
dilapidated appearance, his account of monarchy and
language was taken almost word for word from a
publication 30 years earlier, by Ollivier Chereau. And
Chereau’s work had its ancestry in the 1510 Liber
Vagatorum which listed 28 categories of
beggars in a similar way to a taxonomy of the animal or
vegetable kingdom and wrote of their secret language. A
1585 work by Ambroise Paré referred to false beggars as
le monstreux. Attitudes to the poor had changed greatly
since the middle ages, and not to their benefit. In a
17th-century context, we can see that defamation of the
argotiers and the Court of Miracles was an attempt to
place order onto an exotic world, but keeping it completely
outside the margins of polite society.
By the 1700s a market area had been established over the
ruins of the Cour des Miracles. Victor Hugo would use a
highly sensationalised version of the court as the setting
for his well known novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame
but any surviving traces disappeared completely under
Baron Hausseman’s reconstruction of Paris in the 19th
century. Now all that remains are the narrow streets and a
sign on the wall to remind tourists that where they stand
was once a miraculous place. IH
INSIDE HISTORY 39

STUMPP
THE WEREWOLF OF BEDBURG
PETER
HANNAH PRINGLE

PETER STUMPP
The combination of a politically charged
society, folkloric tales and monstrous
crimes of a probable serial killer
fostered an environment for the
peculiar case of Peter Stumpp - the
Werewolf of Bedburg.
In the German town of Bedburg, a
series of cattle mutilations and monstrous
killings took place between the years of
1564 and 1589. The investigation went
beyond suspected wolf attacks to
circulating lycanthropy accusations in the
1580s. Rumours of a wolf-like creature
initially stemmed from an attack of a local
girl who called on divine intervention and
was saved by a cattle stampede. It was in
this stampede, men from the village
encountered a wolf and cut off its left
forepaw. This tale provides the basis for
the peculiar trial of Peter Stumpp that
took place in 1589.
Peter Stumpp had a variety of alias’ such
as Peter Stube, Peter Stumpf, Abalm
Griswold, Abil Groswold and Ubel
Griswold. Born in Cperadt, near the town
of Bedburg, he was a wealthy farmer and
a father to two children, assumed to have
been widowed by his wife at some point in
the 1580s. His age is uncertain due to the
lack of records surviving the Thirty Years
War, but he is estimated to have been
born between 1545-1550. After years of
the tale surviving only in folklore, The Most
Damnable Life and Death of Stubbe
Peeter was rediscovered by occultist
Montague Summers in 1920, detailing the
heinous crimes and execution of Peter
Stumpp. The pamphlet describes him
as:
“a most wicked Sorcerer who…
transfourmed into the likness of
a greedy deuouring Woolf.
Strong and mighty, with eyes
great and large, which in the
night sparkeled like vnto
brandes of fire, a mouth great
and wide, with most sharpe and
cruell teeth, A huge body, and
mightye pawes.”
The English translation of the 16-page
German pamphlet differed slightly
from the one circulating in the
Netherlands, which discussed the link
between the wolf who had its forepaw
removed by villagers, and Stumpp’s
impairment. When taking into
consideration the literature produced
on Peter Stumpp, we can begin to see
how rumours of lycanthropy and
diabolical pacts began to circulate.
Running parallel to witchcraft trials in
the early modern period, the pamphlet
was referenced by Edward Fairfax in
Daemonologia: A Discourse on
Witchcraft during the persecution of
his daughters for witchcraft in 1621.
For a village such as Bedburg, already
experiencing great religious and
political instability due to the Cologne
War 1583-88, the evolution of these
violent attacks encompassing cattle,
children and even foetus’ caused an
uproar. The unpredictable and vicious
nature of these crimes encouraged
villagers to establish a hunting party in
1589 to track down this suspected
werewolf who had been terrorising
the town.
The villagers eventually cornered a
creature in the wood, witnessing a
wolf without its left forepaw. They
were convinced this was the same
wolf from the earlier attack on the
local
girl in the field, whose paw they had
cut off. When this wolf disappeared,
Peter Stumpp emerged missing his
left hand. This was considered all the
evidence needed to prosecute the
tormentor of Bedburg. They were
convinced that he was the werewolf
responsible for these monstrous
crimes and apprehended him.
Similar to the earlier French werewolf
trials of Pierre Burgot, Michel Verdun
and Jacques Roulet, Peter Stumpp was
accused of committing appalling
crimes such as child murder, rape,
incest and cannibalism in the form of
a werewolf over “fiue and twenty
42 INSIDE HISTORY

yeerers”. As a sociable character, he was said to have lured
people into traps, which saw him accused of mutilating
many men, women, and children. Two of these women
were pregnant as he proceeded to tear “the children out of
their wombes, in most bloody and sauedge sorte, and after
eate their hartes panting hotte and rawe, which he
accounted dainty morsels & best agreeing to his appetite.”
Faced with being stretched on the excruciating rack,
Stumpp confessed to practising lycanthropy, sorcery, and
necromancy since the age of 12. He indulged the
magistrates by detailing how the devil had appeared to
him and gifted him a girdle a few years later. The belt
possessed magical properties, which enabled him to
transform into the Werewolf of Bedburg. He admitted to
using this girdle to commit many atrocities in the form of a
wolf, including at least 16 murders, the rape of young
women and acts of incest concerning his sister and
daughter whom he “begat a childe”. The girdle mentioned
was never recovered and Stumpp confessed to discarding
the girdle upon apprehension and returning it to the
devil.
Stumpp also shockingly confessed to the murder of his
own son, who he lured into the forest under false
pretences. He claimed to have used the girdle to transform
into a wolf, proceeding to “cruelly slewe him…[and] eat the
brains out of his head…to staunch his geedye apetite”. This
was significant, as the reason Stumpp was not suspected
of the crimes from the beginning was the untimely murder
of his son, which villagers thought him incapable of
committing following the death of his wife.
As with many crimes of this nature, torture found its place
in the trial of Peter Stumpp not only with the extraction of
a confession, but with his execution. He was executed
alongside his mistress, Katherine Trompin, and daughter,
Sybil, on 31 October 1589. Both were executed through
the act of flaying and strangling, as Katherine was believed
to have been a she-wolf sent by the devil, and Sybil for
merely harbouring Stumpp’s existence. The ecclesiastical
principality continued to make a statement with this trial
and proceeded to execute Stumpp by strapping him to the
breaking wheel. As flesh was torn from his body, his arms
and legs were broken via the hard side of an axe. The
mutilation did not stop there as he was later beheaded
and his body was burned, with his head being mounted
upon a spear for all to see. This warning acted as a
deterrent for people using maleficia, sorcery and
conspiring with the devil, in a highly anxious society.
Woodcut of a werewolf by Lucas Cranach the
Elder, Germany c.1512. Wikimedia Commons
The gruesome trial of Peter Stumpp was retold in
countries across Europe including England, the
Netherlands and France. Although there is a wealth of
material produced on Stumpp, we still do not have a
definitive answer as to who he really was. His life has been
indulged by popular culture, blurring the line between fact
and myth. What we do know is that he lived in a religiously
divided electorate where anxieties were high, and violence
was commonplace. The combination of a politically
charged society, folkloric tales and monstrous crimes of a
probable serial killer fostered an environment for the
peculiar case of Peter Stumpp - the Werewolf of Bedburg. IH
INSIDE HISTORY 43

The Trojan War was the greatest catastrophe of the ancient
world. We are told that it devastated Europe and Asia and
plunged the known world into a Dark Age that lasted 500 years.
This is the ‘Story of Troy’. The truth has never been established
but after Thirty years of painstaking investigative research,
historian Bernard Jones Believes that He has finally resolved
this 3,000-year-old mystery. The amazing conclusion is that the
Trojan War actually happened and Homer’s Iliad is a factual
account.
THE REAL
TROJAN
WAR?
44 INSIDE HISTORY

HOUDINI
VS
HodgsonINSIDE HISTORY 45

Jones’ research showed that the Trojan War could not
have taken place in the Aegean area, or even in the
Mediterranean world. The evidence turns our accepted
geography on its head, but leads us on a fascinating journey
of discovery back to the real world in which the Trojans lived.
This world was in NW Europe. Only in this corrected
environment can Homer’s Iliad be understood – and as a
result, it has been shown to be a genuine historical record.
Jones is not alone in believing that there appears to be many
flaws in Homer’s Iliad. This is only true, however, when
looked at from a ‘Mediterranean’ viewpoint. In fact, it was
these very ‘flaws’ that made him start right at the beginning
and investigate everything from scratch and in minute detail.
He says, ‘Homer gives meticulous information on an
infinite number of matters relating to the natural
world in which he lived. Many people may not even
notice this information because it is embodied in the
text in very subtle ways and is easily missed. From the
outset, it is undoubtedly the battle scenes that
impress themselves on the mind. The enormity of the
war, the vast numbers of ships and men and chariots
and horses, the violence of battle, the never-ending
struggle for glory, the brutality, death, blood and gore.
It is overwhelming. Under such a bombardment it is
impossible to take in the many microscopic and
beautiful details of the natural world that present
themselves fleetingly through the carnage of the
battlefield. The serious investigator is forced to read
Homer many times over in order to discover these
details, because they are minute gems of evidence’.
Seas and Tides
The nature of the seas and tides, as described by Homer in
the Iliad, does not fit a Mediterranean picture. He uses the
terms ‘grey’ sea, ‘wine-dark’ sea, and the ‘roaring’ sea. He tells
us of the black rollers, the grey and thundering surf, and the
hissing waves. He describes the storm-tossed sea when
billows tumble over the bulwark of a ship. He also tells us that
the much-travelled seagoing ships of the Achaeans were fast
‘salt- watercraft’, and when they reached land the sailors cast
anchors and made the hawsers fast. The picture that
emerges from the Iliad is unambiguous. It is a picture of a sea
that is continually in tumult, and the predominant colour is
grey. These are accurate descriptions for the Atlantic but not
for the Mediterranean.
Climate and Weather
Homer gives us an account of the weather in such detail that
any reader could be forgiven for thinking that the Trojan War
must have taken place in the North Sea. He tells us of dark
clouds, blustering winds, the thunder-laden sky, heavy rain
and winter torrents. There is fog and chilling hail; and mist
that is so thick that ‘a man can see no further than he can
heave a rock’. He also describes the snow that falls without
ceasing till it has covered the high hilltops, the clover
meadows and farmers fields; till even the shores and inlets of
the grey sea are under snow and ‘only the breakers fend it off
as they come rolling in’. Again, these descriptions appear to
indicate some northern land.
46 INSIDE HISTORY

14

that the Troy of King Priam was the original establishment
on the hill, but the lowest layer produced only stone,
primitive pottery and bone. He shifted his attention to a
burnt third layer where he found treasures of gold, silver
and copper or bronze. This treasure has since been dated
to 2,200 BCE. In 1882, Schliemann shifted his identification
to another layer, and yet again to another in 1890. He died
that year but Professor Dorpfield continued excavating
and discovered fortification walls and houses. This layer
was called Troy VI and Dorpfield pronounced it as the
settlement of Homer’s and Priam’s Troy.
Landscape and Environment
In the Iliad we are given valuable information about the
homelands of the various contingents in the Trojan and
Achaean armies. Homer uses the phrase ‘bountiful earth’
when referring to them, and his descriptions indicate a
veritable Garden of Eden. These countries are rich in grazing
lands, plough lands, tilled fields, farms, farmyards, threshing
floors, reaping, fishing, hunting and horse breeding. The
homelands of the Achaeans and of the Trojans and their
allies were ‘rich in flocks and cattle’, with unnumbered
sheep, bulls, horses and pigs. These lands produced wheat,
corn, barley, rye, honey, wine and bread. The land is so rich
and fruitful that it is impossible for it to be the modern
Greece of today, where thin rocky soils are typical of the
area and less than 25% of the land could ever be cultivated.
The Archaeological Troy
On the evidence of inscriptions discovered in the area, a
ridge known to the Turks as Hissarlik was identified nearly
200 years ago as the site of Hellenistic and Roman Ilion. The
mound of Hissarlik had a maximum length of 200 metres
and was less than 150 metres wide. It rose just over 30
metres above the level of the plain. In 1865 Heinrich
Schliemann decided to excavate the mound. Eventually, he
distinguished seven and then nine main layers that
corresponded to the ruins of towns. He was of the opinion
After Dorpfield’s excavations, Blegen led an Archaeological
Expedition from the University of Cincinnati in an
investigation of the site. This showed that there were no
contemporary written records to throw light on the history,
religion, social organisation, economic life or other aspects
of Trojan culture. Blegen, however, later stated that it could
no longer be doubted that there was an actual historical
Trojan War. This drew fierce criticism from Finley who said
there was nothing in the archaeology of Troy that gave the
slightest warrant for such an assertion. Blegen’s team had
found nothing that pointed to an Achaean coalition, an
overlord king, Trojan allies or the destroyers of Troy.
Mainland Greek archaeology and the Mycenaean tablets
were equally devoid of information. As stated by Donald
Easton, it has never been proved that Hissarlik is the site of
Homer’s Troy. Although archaeological work continues, we
have not really moved forward from Donald Easton’s
position. We will find, however, that all the evidence from
Jones’ research makes the archaeological argument void.
Homer’s Astronomical
Evidence
It may come as a surprise to many people but Homer
identifies the location of Troy using astronomical means.
He pays just the same amount of attention to the planets,
the stars, and the constellations, as he does to the battle
scenes and the struggle for victory in arms. These are the
beautiful details of the natural world and Homer is
faultless at describing them all. He is a master too in his
story-telling and, just like a magician’s performance, it is so
easy to be mesmerised and miss things that are right in
front of your eyes. Recognising the importance of Homer’s
astronomical information in the narrative of the Iliad
cannot be underestimated. The poet is actually informing
us of the location of Troy; and it is to the north of the Line
of Latitude 45 degrees. This excludes all of Greece and
Turkey, and the whole of the Mediterranean and Aegean
areas.
48 INSIDE HISTORY

The Burning of Troy, oil painting by Johann Georg Trautmann
Where did the Greeks
come from?
This may seem to be a very simple question but the answer
is no-one really knows! At the time of Herodotus the Greeks
were in the Mediterranean and Aegean and their history, as
we know it today, began. Surprisingly though, the Greeks
had no legends about their entry into the land in which they
lived. The Greek language, however, is deemed to be part of
the Indo-European family of languages that had its origin in
the north. Many of the cultural themes from Homer are
characteristic of Celtic society, a warrior aristocracy, and this
in itself points us to the north once more. Finding the
original home of the Celts though is fraught with difficulty,
but we do know that they spoke Greek, as did the ancient
Britons and Gauls.
Homer’s Metals
In the Iliad we are told about the various metals that were
being used at the time of the Trojan War. These included
gold, silver, iron, tin and bronze (an alloy of copper and tin).
Many of the combatants in the war wore bronze armour and
Homer describes the battles that ensued in order to strip
the armour from the fallen heroes. He also tells us about the
exquisite works of craftsmen in all of these metals, as well as
the quoits of iron that were the most highly prized of all. In
reality, these metals were not available together in the
Aegean world so where did they come from? It is a
conundrum that has confounded researchers up to the
present day. Once more, the answer is that they came from
the north, and Jones reveals that they were all available
together in one country. That country was where the Trojan
War took place!
Extensive Research
The subject matter given here is just a brief introduction to
the extensive research done by Jones over the decades and
covered in his book, The Discovery of Troy and its Lost
History. Many more elements added to the picture about
the Trojan War and, as a result, narrowed the focus for
discovering its location. As it transpired, this brought with it a
detailed geography that was crucial to everything that
followed. Jones reveals who the Achaeans, the Danaans, and
the Argives really were; and then he goes on to identify the
Trojans themselves. ‘The Trojans never disappeared from
Asia’, he says, ‘because they were never there’. Homer’s
geography enabled the Trojan battleground and Troy’s main
rivers to be identified, along with the Achaean camp and the
refuge for the fleet. These discoveries led in turn to the
identification of the Land of Troy and the Bronze Age city of
King Priam itself, a city that was more than 25 square
kilometres in size.
Archaeology and history
Unbelievably, the discoveries do not end here because the
remains of the Achaean Wall are still to be seen on the plain
where the Bronze Age Trojan War took place. Homer
describes in detail the wall and ditch that was constructed to
protect the ships. He tells us that it was a massive wall with
battlements, towers, and gates; and the ditch was so wide
that even horses could not jump it. The whole edifice was so
long that it took 700 sentries to guard it. The massive wall
that still exists matches Homer’s descriptions in every respect
– as does the archaeological report that was carried out on it
many years ago.
Finally, there is the historical aspect to consider; a nation’s
history that asserts their descendancy from Troy and
chronicles all their kings down to modern times. A history
often passed over by modern historians and sometimes
derided by others. The author’s discoveries confirm the
veracity of these histories.
European histories also tell the whole story of the migrations
that took place following the Trojan War and the nations that
arose out of the ashes of Troy. The records of these nations
independently verify the author’s findings, and they overturn
the theory of a ‘Dark Age’. The evidence shows that the
historical account is continuous down to modern times.
Consequently, the ‘Story of Troy’ can now be removed from
the realm of myth and be placed firmly into the historical
arena.
The Discovery of Troy and
its Lost History by Bernard
Jones is out now and
available from our book
shop
INSIDE HISTORY 49

INTERview
DR JOHN WOolf
& the wonders of the victorian
freak show
Inside History editor, Nick Kevern meets Dr John Woolf
to discuss the age of the Victorian Freak show and the
histories of those who called it home.
Your new book focuses on the age of
the Victorian Freak Shows and those
who participated in them. What
prompted you to write this book in
the first place?
Yeah. It's kind of strange one, isn't it? You
know it's been like a freakish obsession of
mine for about 20 years. When I was nine
years old, I watched David Lynch's film
The Elephant Man. It's brilliant. Such a
good film. But as a nine year old, its also
found it quite scary. And I remember
vividly at the time feeling this sense of
fear as the Elephant Man emerges from
the shadows of Victorian London. And yet
at the same time feeling a kind of real
compassion for Joseph Merrick, the Man
behind the Mask. And that moment
almost planted the seeds of a fascination
with difference and otherness and
freakishness, which ultimately sprouted in
me as an undergraduate. When I started
looking at the history of psychiatry, then
when I did my doctorate, I turned that into
looking at physical difference in The
Victorian Freak Show, and then ultimately
the book as well.
We start seeing Joseph Merrick as
more human as the film goes on. Was
that something which really
mattered to you when you're going
away writing about a book about Side
Show freaks?
Absolutely. That was kind of the core of
my project was trying to humanise those
who've been deemed other and different
in the Victorian period. And actually since
then have been often presented in quite
sensational ways. And David Lynch's film
was quite a sensitive portrayal of Joseph
50 INSIDE HISTORY

Merrick. But that film itself is interesting because David Lynch,
the arch postmodernist filmmaker, actually wrote the film
based on one narrative at the time, a rather sentimental
narrative constructed by Joseph Merrick's surgeon, Frederick
Treves, and Treves wrote this memoir in the 20th century,
early 20th century, where he presented Joseph Merrick's life in
the Freak Show as one of abject horror and debasement and
cruelty and exploitation, and his sort of salvation in the
London hospital where he was presented in this refuge, and
he could spend his remaining days in quiet leisure. So it was
quite a sentimental Victorian portrait of Joseph Merrick's
story. But when Frederick Treves wrote and published his
memoir, there was actually a counter-narrative from one of
the showmen who had exhibited Joseph Merrick at the
London Hospital. And he wrote actually attacking Treves,
saying, the way you've presented our showman is basically
exploiting Joseph was unfair. He was well treated in The Freak
Show, and you, Mr. Treves, were the one that really exploited
him. He became a medical freak in your institution. You put
him on display to your medical friends. You denied him a life
of independence and agency. So Joseph Merrick's life is
actually constructed with different narratives. And David
Lynch's film uses one narrative, the surgeon's narrative. But
actually, it's much more complex. That was kind of one of the
things that fascinated me about the story of Joseph Martin.
Generally, how do you read his experiences? Because David
Lynch would have us believe one thing, whereas actually, the
reality was a bit more common.
Merrick's real showman owner was a man called Tom
Norman. He always comes across as quite a respectable
man, an entrepreneur of type. So he wouldn't obviously
treat someone like that because that's his livelihood
isn't it?
Just like today's
entertainment
industry, sometimes
talent is exploited.
Could we, therefore, make an argument that for
people who were physically deformed or even
mentally deformed at that time, that life in the
sideshows was actually better for them?
Yeah. That's kind of the central difficult question in all of this.
Was the freak show exploitative or did it empower people?
Did it present a choice for people who are disabled? Or was
it a space of coercion? And the truth is there's no simple
answer. Just like today's entertainment industry, sometimes
talent is exploited. Sometimes it isn't the same for the world
of the Freak Show. Now, those who defend the freak show
as a form of entertainment would claim exactly that their
alternatives were destitution in the workhouse or committed
to a mental asylum or a life on the margins of society,
earning very little. And the freak show gave them agency. It
gave them independence. It gave them a means to earn
their own income. And in the 19th century often created
Yeah, totally. And Frederick Treves publishes his memoir
where it has a Story of the Elephant Man. And Tom Norman
responds in a series of articles claiming exactly what he was
like, he never treated Joseph Merrick like that. It would have
been terrible for business if he did treat him like that. And
actually, he was very grateful to him because prior to his time
in The Freak Show, Joseph Merrick was incarcerated in the
workhouse, which, as we all know, was a place of real sort of
horror and dependency. And Joseph Merrick himself was a
working-class man from Leicester and living in a workhouse
being dependent was a real sort of hit to one sense of
masculinity. And so in Joseph Merrick's own autobiography,
again, another narrative of his story, which is often forgotten,
he says, I decided to leave the workhouse and seek
employment in The Freak Show, where I was well treated. And
Tom Norman reminds us of this fact and stresses that Joseph
Merrick was well treated in The Freak Show on the whole. And
when we look at the life of Tom Norman, there's nothing to
suspect that he would have mistreated Joseph. No evidence of
that other than what the surgeon Frederick Treves claimed
going back to the workhouse because that was always the
last place you never wanted to go to.
SIR FREDERICK TREVES
INSIDE HISTORY 51

international celebrities. We think of the free choice a sort of
dark, marginal affair. In the 19th century, it was respectable
theatrical, and it created the celebrities of their generation.
So was that preferable to a world of the workhouse. And the
typical historians' answer is sometimes. It was in certain
cases, sometimes it wasn't. But that's one of the reasons why
this is so fascinating in the history of disability as well
because it provokes all of these questions. And of course,
some of them didn't actually go into the official freak show
carnival kind of atmosphere.
Some were actually self-employed where they allowed
people to come into their homes. In particular, I'm
thinking of Daniel Lambert. Could you tell us more
about him?
He's an amazing character. He put himself on display when
he was in his 30s and about 56 stone. So big fat man billed
as a big fat man. One of the world's wonders. He was from
Leicester originally, and he comes down to London, puts
himself on display in Piccadilly, Number 53 Piccadilly in 1806.
And he puts out advertisements in the Times, and there's a
couple of bill posters. And this wasn't the freak show of
performance or singing or dancing. This was Daniel Lambert
sitting receiving guests. They pay a shilling. They go and visit
him at his apartment, and it was built as an apartment. They
converse with him and by all accounts, he was a very good
conversationalist. He was a man who was really attuned with
country, sport, and country pursuits. And they'd have a
conversation. It wasn't really a formal freak show. It was an
early form of display that many people with bodies deemed
different would utilise. And the clients who would attend or
the audience were sort of more refined variety because it
was priced at about a shilling.
Daniel would have probably done this all himself. There was
no manager or anything like that attached. It's quite
interesting because one of the difficult things about this
subject is extracting the truth from fiction and the sources.
And the sources would have us believe most of these
sources come from 19th-century eccentric biographies,
which are sort of compendium of biographies on eccentric
characters. And they say that Daniel Lambert presented
himself. He was too noble a man to be hired by a showman
at the time, having quite a nasty reputation. So, yes, we
assume that he presented himself without any help, that he
was his own showman. Yet there are certain things and I
raise this in my book, which makes us question the veracity
of that statement, and it seems almost impossible. He went
on a tour around the UK. He was very attuned to how to
present himself, and he was a great businessman as well.
But there are questions. He probably did have some help,
yet the sources aren't forthcoming because they wanted to
present Lambert as a sort of Noble gentleman who was
incidentally fat. So probably he was his own showman, but
he might have had assistance as well. I find that quite
interesting because it's almost as if the marketing plan for
him is there is no showman associated.
There someone whom you talk about in the book, who
I find fascinating as well. Jeffrey Hudson, who has
nothing to do with the freak show. He's a precursor to
it in some respects, but he's with royalty.
Hudson's life is incredible really. In 1626 he was served,
believe it or not, in a pie, a cold baked pie which was brought
into this banqueting room to be served to Queen Henrietta
Maria, the 15-year-old wife to King Charles I. And Jeffrey is
sort of encased in this pie. He breaks through this pie. He
marches up the banqueting table to the astonishment of the
audience, waving flags. And he returns to the Queen and
takes this low bow. And from that moment, Jeffrey Hudson
and Queen Henrietta Maria are inseparable. He goes to live
with her in her Royal residences. He's given basic schooling,
learns how to hunt. He performs in plays and theatricals, and
at age 21, was actually given a salary of I think it's about £50
per annum. Now, why I included Jeffrey Hudson in the story
was exactly as you say. He was not a freak show, but he was
a forerunner. He was kept by the English Royals for
amusement and presented to Royal guests as
entertainment. But again, like we were talking about with
Joseph Merrick, there are complex dynamics going on here
because the options for a person of short stature. I should
say that Jeffrey Hudson was a person of short stature, 18
inches tall, age seven years old, when he was presented to
the Queen. The opportunities in life were very limited, but he
was brought into the centre, the Royal sanctum. He went on
to lead this extraordinary life. He kills a man in a duel. He
fights for the Royals during the English Civil War, he's
banished from courts, get captured by Pirates, enslaved. You
name it. Jeffrey Hudson lived there. So his life is really
fascinating in and of itself because of something interesting
about the 17th century and 17th-century culture and
society. But also in my kind of broader narrative, it's an
important forerunner to the Victorian Freak Show. And then
you can also, of course, link Jeffrey to the much later Tom
Thumb.
Jeffery hudson
52 INSIDE HISTORY

DANIEL LAMBERT (WELLCOME COLLECTION)
INSIDE HISTORY 53

Yes, absolutely. And how that's varied over time,
because once PT Barnum gets General Tom Thumb, he
turns into something completely different, doesn't he?
Yeah. Absolutely. And again, with General Tom Thumb whose
real name was Charles Stratton, another person of short
stature and the turning point in his international fortunes. He
had been a massive hit in America in the early 1840s. He
comes to the UK in 1844. And his change in fortunes in
London and the UK was when he met Queen Victoria three
times, and she was wowed with him. And suddenly Barnum
presented Tom Thumb, his quote, amusing dwarf. As
someone with Royal connections, he was the pet of the
palace, the Queen's dwarf. And this really propelled Tom
Thumb into popular consciousness and actually an
international celebrity. And so, yes, the kind of comparisons
with Jeffrey Hudson. You've got personal short stature used
for entertainment connected to royalty, which improved their
status. Yet Tom Thumb was operating in the world of the
Victorian Freak Show, this popular form of entertainment. And
he and Barnum made a hell of a lot of money as a result. I
mean, Barnum himself is an interesting character in this story,
just in case anyone's watched The Greatest Showman and
think that Hugh Jackman looks like P.T Barnum is the
complete opposite. I mean, let's be honest, I don't think P.T
Barnum is going to turn many heads.
No, compared to Hugh Jackman, but the film itself is
interesting, isn't it? Because it sets up a different
narrative of Barnum, one of which probably Barnum
would be quite proud of.
Yeah, I love it. But at the same time, it's largely not true. We
have to view it as a film.
When did P.T Barnum become obsessed with doing this
kind of things with the American Museum and stuff like
that?
American public. Now we don't hear any of that in The
Greatest Showman. We know that Barnum was a slave
owner who did lug this old woman around who did once
whip a slave 50 times when he suspected him of stealing.
Barnum was a man of his times, and he's got blotches on
his moral record. And in a way, I thought it was a shame
that the film didn't offer a bit more nuance to Barnum's
character. But it was after Joyce Heath that he purchases
the American Museum in 1842. He comes across Charles
Stratton, four years old, 23 inches tall, and Barnum
transforms him for the stage into General Tom Thumb,
who becomes one of the world's first international
celebrities. So that's kind of the moment that Barnum
really sort of explodes onto the scene.
Could we make the argument that with The Greatest
Showman, Hugh Jackman portrays Barnum as kind
of like an everyman, whereas in reality, he was
actually exploitative?
You could definitely make the argument. It's so hard,
because there's always a danger in applying 21st century
standards to 19th-century men. And I stress Barnum was a
man of his time, and he changed over time as an
individual. But he was a slave owner. He was at the time
accused of exploitation. He put Charles Stratton, General
Tom Thomb on stage when he was four years old. There
were allegations of animal cruelty, child cruelty. As I said,
he was a slave owner. So you could definitely make the
claim that this was a man who exploited performers. But
he also made people into stars and celebrities. General
Tom Thumb earned a good salary, and Barnum had a lot
of goodness in his heart as well. So he's a complex man of
his time. But you could definitely argue that he was
exploitative. But I wouldn't go too much to the extreme,
either, because he had some noble qualities as well,
because Tom from Charles Stratton is actually buried near
PC Barnum as well. There's not much
Yes, he was a sort of traveling showman, a man in between
jobs in the 1830s. And it was really in 1841 when he
purchases the American Museum that he sort of really
embarks on a career in the entertainment industry. And that's
when he starts kind of collecting from one of the better word
freak performers to put on display. Now, what the film does is
present Barnum as this great hero. And don't get me wrong.
It's got wonderful music. I love the film, good songs, but the
history is crap. It was really bad. And again, I'm not one of
these historians that picks holes through these things
because it's a different medium, is trying to do something, but
it missed a massive opportunity, and it totally whitewashed
the past. And the truth is PT. Barnum first found fame on the
back of a senile, paralyzed elderly slave named Joyce Heath,
who Barnum lugged across the northeast of America,
displaying her as a 161-year-old nurse of George Washington.
Now she was, of course, not 161-years-old. She was more
likely 80. And when she died on the job, Barnum organised a
public dissection of her body and made a lot of money. And
this kind of was his first sort of exposure to popular culture.
That moment really propelled him into the minds of the
P.T Barnum
54 INSIDE HISTORY

distance that separates them. Now that kind of tells us a lot
about their relationship. Absolutely. He wanted to be near
him. They're buried in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and they had a
very close relationship. When Barnum became bankrupt in
1856, it was Tom Thumb who writes to Barnum and says, you
know, my dear friend, I see you're in difficulty. Let me go on
stage and help you recover your fortunes, which is really kind
of a touching offer that Barnum did ultimately take up and
shows the closeness in their relationship. In my book, I look a
bit more closely at their dynamics, which in the early days was
quite sort of Barnum, was almost a sort of paternal figure to
Charles Stratton, who was very young when he was being
displayed in America and then Europe. So, yeah, he did have a
close relationship with Charles Stratton, as he did with a
number of freak performers he hired. Although it could be
strange with others. And the harrowing story of Joyce Heath
always sort of lingers in my mind because that's a hard one to
swallow. That really tarnish Barnum's image in my mind.
But there is another interesting thing with the slave
ownership because there was another pair who did go
off and do the same thing. Chang and Eng, the famous
Siamese twins, had wives and children and slaves. Does
their story tell us just exactly how successful these
freak shows actually were at the time?
Absolutely. Again, they have this really interesting life
discovered in Siam today's Thailand, in 1824, brought over to
the west for display as freaks of nature. The Siamese twin
brothers, as they were billed, connected by a ligament just
below their breastbone. They did performances and
acrobatics on stage and answered questions. And they had in
their early years they were under the control of their Western
protectors, as they were known, and they were kind of
mistreated. They were underpaid, they were overworked.
They were essentially kind of owned by these protectors. But
when they hit their 21st birthday, they decided that they were
going to leave these protectors and become their own freak
showmen and their own freak businessmen. And as a result,
they became very successful. They made a lot of money,
about $10,000 which they saved thanks to their freak show.
And they retired from the business to Wilkes County in North
Carolina, where they established plantations. They married
two local girls. They had over 20 children between them, and
they owned slaves. So the Siamese twins on stage were
fathers and farmers and slave owners off stage, which is a
kind of incredible reversal of fortune. You really can't make
this kind of stuff up. But for me, it was also interesting
because there's another danger in all of this where we
assume that a freak performer is a mere passive agent who's
exploited and ill-treated and actually changing. And a number
of the performers I look at in my book, fight back. They did
have power. They did have control over their own lives. And
they leave us with quite an uncomfortable legacy.
So what does the Freak Show actually tell us about the
Victorian Age?
This is the thing going back to what I said earlier, like we think
of The Freak Show as a marginal affair, but it was absolutely
central to Victorian society. It was the expression of popular
culture, men, women, and children, the middle classes,
working classes, royalty, Queen Victoria, Abraham Lincoln,
scientists, anthropologists. They all came to the Freak Show.
Everyone loved the Freak Show. And as a result of that, the
Freak Show opens up a world for us to further fathom the
nature of popular culture. The way that the Freak Show was
presented and advertised tells us something about broader
discourses at the time, about medicine, about sexuality,
about gender, about science. And also I looked a lot of
people's responses to The Freak Show. And again, this
illuminates a broader theme. So the Freak Show, by its very
nature, often presented itself as quite a topical form of
entertainment. It really opens up the world for the Victorian
age in very interesting ways.
So what brought about the end of the Freak Show?
Because one moment it's the biggest show in town,
and the next moment it's gone. Why did it end that
way?
The height of its popularity was the 1840s to about 1914,
and it kind of lingered on into the 1940s. But there were a
number of factors that were leading to its decline. One was
the rise of science and medicine, and that meant that
scientists were increasingly explaining away the anomalies
on stage. They suddenly started to understand some of the
conditions that these performers had. Once you do that, you
kill the wonder and the mystique. They also started claiming
freak bodies. So rather than freak performers being on
stage, a number were increasingly institutionalised, whether
in hospitals or mental asylums. And science was so-called
correcting the anomalous body. They are trying to separate
Siamese twins or conjoined twins, for example. So you have
the rise of science, you have the rise of other forms of
popular entertainment. The cinema in particular, really sort
of competed with the Freak Show and ultimately superseded
the Freak Shows. This expression of popular culture and
massively the First World War and that produced disabilities
on an industrial scale. So afterward, it no longer seemed that
appealing to go gorp at people deemed different on stage.
These were sort of some of the major factors which
ultimately led to the decline of the freak Shows. But it did
kind of linger on. It did linger on in 1940 and even beyond.
But it was a shell of its former self.
The Victorian Freak Shows sort of morphed into different
forms of culture and popular culture that are still with us.
And if you think about the central ingredients of
sensationalism, voyeurism and titillation and an obsession
with difference that is still with us, body worlds or gossip
magazines, TV documentaries, it's still there reality TV being
a prime example. So the Freak Show as an institution might
have died. But its legacy lives on. IH
The Wonders: Lifting the
Curtain on the Freak
Show, Circus and Victorian
Age by Dr John Woolf is
out now and available
from our book shop
INSIDE HISTORY 55

INSIDE
BOOKS
WHITE DEBT:
THE DEMERARA
UPRISING AND
BRITAIN'S LEGACY
OF SLAVERY
THOMAS HARDING
EDITOR'S PICK
White Debt is an evocative insight into the
role of British slavery in Guyana in the
nineteenth century.
Thomas Harding focuses on the vital case
of the Demerara Uprising in 1823, Guyana,
which has been largely underrepresented
in historiography. Told from the viewpoint
of four very different, but essential
protagonists in the Demerara Uprising,
Harding’s narrative demonstrates the
power of primary sources to induce a
distinctive historical outline.
We are firstly introduced to Jack
Gladstone, arguably the central character
and the leader of the Uprising at Success
Plantation in Demerara. Secondly, we are
introduced to John Smith, a London
missionary who arrives in Demerara,
providing religious freedom for over 6,000
of his congregation at Bethel Chapel as he
reveals that he ‘abhors slavery’. Thirdly we
are introduced to John Cheveley. After his
once affluent family loses their fortune in
Essex, he is unemployed and looking for a
fresh start, he arrives in Demerara and
Publisher: Orion Publishing Co
ISBN: 9781474621045
Number of pages: 320
Weight: 540g
Dimensions: 236 x 162 x 32 mm
works as a store clerk and unbeknown to
him is coerced to join the militia. Cheveley
later takes part in suppressing the
insurrection of Demerara, fighting against
Jack Gladstone. Lastly, John Gladstone is
the last and perhaps most integral part of
the narrative. He is a prominent politician
as well as economically benefiting greatly
from being a slaveholder, owning land and
‘owning’ people. Harding has successfully
tied all of these different lines of narrative
together to result in a moving and
consistent trajectory in White Debt.
Furthermore, at the end of each chapter,
Harding has included an account of parts
of his research method for this novel. This
proves insightful and complements each
chapter’s subject matter aptly. At the end
of chapter nine, Harding confesses his
struggle with the correct terminology to
use for the revolutionaries, abolitionists,
demonstrators or rebels that took part in
the Demerara Uprising. He conducts a
thought experiment, comparing the
following sentences: “British militia shot
two hundred rebels” and “British militia
shot two hundred abolitionists”. Harding
explains, as the reader simultaneously
realises, that we are much more
sympathetic to the second sentence.
Terminology is indescribably important
when writing, but it also allowed Harding
to reflect that “as a white man who grew
up in Britain, I am struck by the dramatic
difference in my responses”; there is no
such thing as objectivity when reading a
piece of history and it is essential that
this does not go unnoticed.
Harding invites the reader to understand
how, as a white member of British
society, people have personally
benefitted from British slavery in one way
or the other. How can an individual
engage in amending this atrocity that is
prevalent in current society? One way,
Harding notes, is through reparations.
Towards the end of the novel, Harding
recalls meeting Eric Phillips, the chairman
of the Guyana Reparations Commission.
The most common argument against
providing reparations would be ‘why
should I care about something that
happened hundreds of years ago?’. To
which, Eric Phillips concisely shuts down
in a poignant thought: “I can understand
that question, because they have their
own problems and struggles…but the
society they live in, the society that they
are benefitting from…has a historical
platform…it has created a global
hierarchy of race that impacts everything
we do, from the pandemic to debt relief.”
Affronted with our collective amnesia, we
are reminded that the legacy of British
slavery is still very much alive.
Camilla Bolton is an Assistant Editor at
Aspects of History.
56 INSIDE HISTORY

THE PATHFINDERS:
THE ELITE RAF FORCE THAT
TURNED THE TIDE OF WWII
WILL IREDALE
Will Iredale tells the incredible story of
the crack team of ordinary men and women,
from a range of nations, who revolutionised
the efficiency of the Allies' air campaign over
mainland Europe and helped to deliver the
decisive victory over Nazi Germany.
A secret force of 20,000 servicemen, often
teenagers or in their early twenties, the
Pathfinders was the corps d’elite of Britain’s air
bombing campaign that elevated Bomber
Command from an impotent force on the
cusp of disintegration in 1942 to one capable
of razing whole German cities to the ground in
a single night, striking with devastating
accuracy, inspiring fear and loathing in Hitler's
senior command.
At the very heart of the Pathfinders’ formation,
evolution and ongoing survival lay a battle of
alpha-male personalities, giant egos and
entrenched rivalries. This book reveals the
fascinating story of how the Pathfinder force
was created and how it became a pawn in a
bitter power struggle between senior
commanders which threatened to tear
Bomber Command apart.
With exclusive interviews with remaining
survivors, personal diaries, previously
classified records and never-before seen
photographs, The Pathfinders brings to life the
characters of the young airmen and women
who took to the skies in legendary British
aircraft such as the Lancaster and the
Mosquito, facing almost unimaginable levels of
violence from enemy fighter planes to strike at
the heart of the Nazi war machine.
The secret of this elite squadron’s success was
an unlikely combination of characters,
including a humble university chemistry
lecturer and fireworks boffin, a clairvoyant
Scottish scientist who invented the world’s first
bombing device that could see in the dark,
and an abrasive Australian cowboy considered
to be one of the most talented airmen of the
war.
This riveting book also tells the tales of the
exceptionally brave effort made by thousands
of ordinary young men thrust into
extraordinary circumstances as Pathfinders,
who didn’t know or really care about the
political machinations of their bosses. Their
fight was for survival and their job was clear: to
fly over enemy territory to locate and ‘mark’
targets in the dark so that the main force of
Bomber Command’s aircraft following behind
could bomb as accurately as possible.
We meet Ulric Cross, from Trinidad, a
Mosquito Navigator flying in the Night Light
Striking Force, who became the most
decorated West Indian of the Second World
War. Dubbed ‘The Black Hornet’, he flew
dozens of dangerous missions over enemy
territory, avoiding being killed and helping
prevent up to 200 bombers being shot down
in a daring mission over Berlin in 1943. We are
also introduced to one of the last Pathfinders
still alive today - Geordie Lancaster pilot Ernie
Holmes, who reveals the astonishing story of
how he was blown out of his Lancaster
bomber at 17,000 feet and spent a month on
the run before being betrayed to the Gestapo.
And Colin Bell, one of the last surviving Second
World War Mosquito pilots, and now aged
100, who flew fifty operations over Nazi
Germany and who reveals how he cheated
death at the hands of a German Luftwaffe jet
fighter almost 80 years ago.
Thanks almost exclusively to the Pathfinders,
the numbers of Bomber Command crews
reaching their targets rose from as low as 25
per cent in August 1942 to 95 per cent in
some operations in April 1945. This increasing
accuracy played a critical role in the precision
bombing ahead of the Allied D-Day invasion in
June 1944 and the advance across Europe.
The huge impact made by the Pathfinders
force, and its contribution towards the overall
war effort, is perhaps best summed up by a
newspaper article published July 1944 in which
the journalist wrote:
“The Pathfinders are the aces of Bomber
Command. Without them Bomber Command
could never be the devastating force it is
today. Without them the strategic long‐range
hammering of German cities could never have
taken place during the last two years. Without
them the softening‐up of the enemy’s
communication lines, the smashing of railway
centres in the occupied countries to produce
the chaos that prepared the way for our
invasion, could never have happened.”
Alex Hippisley-Cox is the PR representative for
the Daily Mail Chalke Valley History Festival
Publisher: WH Allen
ISBN: 9780753557808
Number of pages: 448
Weight: 723g
Dimensions: 240 x 40 x 162mm
INSIDE HISTORY 57

BLACK GOLD:
THE HISTORY OF HOW
COAL MADE BRITAIN
JEREMY PAXMAN
There are two stories that Jeremy
Paxman tells in his new book, Black Gold:
The History of How Coal Made Britain. The
first is the national story, how coal was the
driver behind the Industrial Revolution and
the British Empire. The country’s hunger
for this black rock was needed for steam
to drive the trains, and the Royal Navy to
rule the waves. This insatiable appetite for
energy came with a price, and that is the
second story. The human cost. Those that
lived in the coal mining villages of South
Wales, the Midlands, the North East and
Yorkshire, from the early years of the 19th
century, worked 12 hours a day and 7 days
a week. Up until the late 19th century
women and girls worked down the mines,
and young boys too. The numerous
disasters, most tragic of all Aberfan, are
movingly told, as accidents accounted for
thousands of deaths. The numbers that
died from illnesses such as respiratory
disease will never be known.
Whilst the miners were suffering, their
employers were not, and Paxman brutally
exposes the fabulous sums accrued by the
landed aristocracy; men such as the
Marquess of Bute and the Marquess of
Londonderry, and their descendants,
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 9780008128340
Number of pages: 320
Weight: 690g
Dimensions: 234 x 272 x 39 mm
raked in such vast amounts of cash that
they literally did not know what to do with
it. As a result, insane projects were
embarked upon, and money outrageously
wasted. Meanwhile the miners continued
their struggle down the pits, desperate for
proper representation and the holy grail of
public ownership.
Paxman has made a
vital contribution in
ensuring this
important
episode of our history
has finally received
the attention it
deserves.
In 1947 the Attlee administration granted
what the miners had always wished for,
however a new set of challenges
remained, and Paxman shows how
successive governments, both
Conservative and Labour, failed to square
the circle of an efficient industry with a
happy workforce.
Orwell’s line from The Road to Wigan Pier,
‘the coal-miner is second in importance
only to the man who ploughs the soil’, was
sadly no longer true by the time the
Thatcher government had decided to
break up the industry. And as Paxman
lays out so effectively when dealing
with that 1984/5 Miner’s Strike, it was
clear that was the ultimate objective,
and aided by blunders from the
secretary of the National Union of
Mineworkers, Arthur Scargill. His
account of the battle of Orgreave is
particularly delicate, and the behaviour
of various police forces shaming.
What is extraordinary is the scarcity of
publications on the subject; not only on
the history of coal-mining and its
contribution to Britain’s rise in the 18th
century, but of the Miner’s Strike itself.
Thanks to Paxman, we now have a
significant addition. Whilst passions still
run high on both sides of the debate,
what is certainly true is that hundreds
of communities were dismantled, and
their sense of betrayal by the political
class lingers today. Paxman has made
a vital contribution in ensuring this
important episode of our history has
finally received the attention it
deserves.
Oliver Webb-Carter is the Editor of
Aspects of History.
@olliewcq
58 INSIDE HISTORY

Tunnel 29:
THE true story of an
extraordinary escape
beneath the berlin wall
Helena Merriman
In the summer of 1962 Joachim Rudolph
and a team of diggers had an idea. Having
previously escaped to the West of Berlin,
Rudolph was now heading back to East, only
this time, he was going underneath the Berlin
Wall in order to help others escape. What
followed was a 135-metre tunnel that ran
between a factory building in the west and a
tenement block cellar in the east. It would be
one of the most spectacular escape plans
devised. It had been attempted before but
many attempts had either failed or were foiled
by the infamous Stasi. It would become known
as Tunnel 29 after the 29 people who
managed to escape using it.
If like me, you tuned into Helena Merriman's
excellent podcast then you will already know
what to expect from Tunnel 29: The True Story
of an Extraordinary Escape Beneath the Berlin
Wall. Merriman excels in producing podcasts
but can this be translated into book form?
In short, the answer is, of course. Much of that
is due to how Merriman chooses to retell the
story. Short, sharp chapters give the narrative
the element of the same level of urgency felt
by those recalling their stories. It gives it a
similar feel to the award-winning podcast at
the pace of an extremely frantic thriller
complete with twists and turns that will keep
the reader gripped.
Ever since Anna Funder's Stasiland, writers
have gone in search of more stories and
interviews that help to form this new history of
the GDR (German Democratic Republic).
Whilst the story of Tunnel 29 is nothing new,
Merriman reminds us that it is how you tell the
story that really counts.
The first time this story was told was back in
1962 as Joachim Rudolph and his team were
tunneling back into the GDR as dozens of
men, women and children; were willing to risk
everything to escape. Back then, of course, the
television cameras were on them capturing
the whole event in real-time.
In many ways, you
could consider this to
be the director's cut
version of the podcast
and Merriman does not
disappoint.
Drawing on hundreds of hours of interviews
with the survivors, and thousands of pages of
Stasi documents, Helena Merriman has plenty
to work with which adds even more to the
already excellent podcast. In many ways, you
could consider this to be the director's cut
version of the podcast and Merriman does not
disappoint.
Tunnel 29 has the feel of classic cold war
fiction yet as we know, the truth is often
stranger and if anything, more riveting. As the
group is infiltrated by the Stasi the pressure is
on, not only for the group of diggers but also
those waiting in the GDR to make their escape.
The tension of the situation is palpable, we
feel every centimetre dug and every drop of
sweat that hits the floor. This is where Tunnel
29 excels. In many respects, Merriman is a
storyteller first and at times it really shows.
The context of the situation in the
GDR is dealt with swiftly but concisely.
For those expecting more than this
then don't expect much. Merriman
after all is not a historian. Instead the
main focus is Joachim Rudolph, the
other diggers, and those who
escaped. As a journalist, she favours
their stories and rightly so. This after
all, is their story.
For fans of the podcast this is a mustread
giving you much more detail to
its predecessor. With over 6 million
downloads, the podcast produced by
Merriman is a hit and this book
deserves similar praise.
For those that haven't heard the
podcast (something you should
certainly do) then fear not as this
book covers everything and more.
Nick Kevern is the Editor of Inside
History Magazine
@nick_kevern
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
ISBN: 9781529334012
Number of pages: 336
Weight: 580g
Dimensions: 236 x 162 x 36 mm
INSIDE HISTORY 59

NOW STREAMING
You would be forgiven for not knowing too much
about the life of Dean Reed, that is of course
unless you lived in South America or the Soviet
Union where the singer was an icon. In those
areas of the world, Reed would be the pop star
who packed out stadiums and inspired a
generation. There was a very good reason for this,
he was their little piece of Americana within their
communist world.
Red Elvis sheds light on Reed’s extraordinary
career not only as a musician and actor but also
as an activist. Told through the voices of those
who knew him best (including his daughter,
Romana Reed) and historians who have studied
him, we quickly learn that there was more to Dean
Reed than first meets the eye. From his early
career to his untimely death in East Berlin, the
makers of this documentary take the viewer on a
journey of Cold War politics, activism and music.
Born in Colorado, Reed would begin his career
signing to Capitol records as they searched for the
next Elvis Presley. He would sign a seven record
deal with the record company and even audition
for Warner Brothers. Yet his career in the U.S did
not grow to the levels expected. His contract
would be sold to a syndicate following his first two
singles failing to hit the mark. The syndicate would
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control his image from now on. It was not a
good experience for the now controlled
young star.
Yet his single “Our Summer Romance” would
change everything for Reed as the single
exploded in South America. The people
adopted him as their new American idol. He
would chart above the likes of Elvis Presley
and Frank Sinatra in the South. His concerts
would sell out and he would find himself on
the cover of magazines.
60 INSIDE HISTORY

“I get very angry when I see injustices and untruths, And South America did
this to me so I can say that I can not only put entertainment into my art, but
that you have to say also “I am, by
profession, a showman, but in
ideology, I am something different.”
As the masses in South America fell in love with him, so
too did he fall in love with the people of South America.
Seeing the slums at first hand, he grew to dislike the
explotation of the American machine, blaming it for their
misery. It was his epiphany moment. A moment where he
realised that he could make a difference with his now
growing fame.
Reed would later tell East German Television that: “I get
very angry when I see injustices and untruths, And South
America did this to me so I can say that I can not only put
entertainment into my art, but that you have to say also “I
am, by profession, a showman, but in ideology, I am
something different.”
In 1977, the Stasi were ready to work with the American
singer. Dean Reed was now entering the realms of
becoming an informant. He was asked to report back
about his findings on a visit to Lebanon and Yasser Arafat.
He was now on the frontline. Meeting the Stasi after his
trip he would later complain to the top of the government
about them, highlighting that he wanted nothing to do
with the secret police. Reed may not have known this at
the time but he had just put a target on his back.
As life in the eastern block was taking its final breaths,
Reed was losing his popularity. He was seen as part of the
system by the youth of the 1980s. His music was now
seen as stale in comparison to the likes of Bruce
Springsteen. In terms of significance, Dean Reed was
losing the battle. A Stasi report would later say that Reed
referred to the GDR as a “Fascist State”. The American
rebel was now a problem. He was now seen as a Marxist
in the U.S and a traitor in the GDR. Yet for Reed, America
was always home and he was planning on returning.
From opposing the use of Nuclear bombs, the Vietnam
War, and many other American policies, Reed’s head was
being turned by socialism. Soon he would become an FBI
target who began to take note of his actions.
Growing ever despondent, he slowly becomes an enemy
of America. His music would become protest in nature
favouring the side of socialism. Needless to say, he was
now a political radical, an outcast in American eyes. Yet,
he was huge in the Soviet Union and particularly in the
GDR (German Democratic Republic).
In 1972, he would move to the very heart of the Cold War
itself, East Berlin. For the GDR, this was seen as a coup.
For Reed, he was now in what he considered to be a
socialist paradise. Marrying an East German model,
performing to sell-out crowds, making movies that would
further propel his fame in his new homeland. Yet, the
Stasi were also taking note.
He would appear on 60 Minutes in the U.S where he
spoke about favouring Gorbachov over Regan. It was a PR
disaster for what he believed to be a homecoming.
Returning to the GDR Reed was now looking at getting
out. Unknown to him, he was being monitored by a friend
and Stasi informer known as “Frank Rieg”. Then Reed
vanishes.
Reed’s body was found a few days later in a lake.
Drowning was declared as the official cause of death. The
real cause has been a mystery ever since.
Dean Reed’s story is an extraordinary one. A man who
was at the epicentre of the Cold War itself. A Rebel,
Musician, Friend, Husband and a Father. The filmmakers
deal with his story with care and affection but also have a
real understanding not only of the man they are dealing
with but also the turbulent political times in which he
lived.
INSIDE HISTORY 61

Historic WEEKENDER
48 HOURS IN...
CARLISLE
Words: Nick Kevern
images: inside history
During frequent trips to Scotland I
regularly passed the historic city of
Carlisle. There were times when I felt like
the northbound M6 was a second home
but as a creature of habit, I would usually
simply travel past Carlisle in order to
cross the border to Scotland which is only
eight miles away.
It was something I always regretted as
soon as I passed. Given the rich history of
the city dating back nearly 2000 years it is
a place I have always wanted to visit, after
all, it is a history lovers paradise.
The Crown and Mitre Hotel would be my
home for the next 48 hours as I
explored this historic city and its
surrounding area. Situated in the City
Centre it has played a part in the city's
history in its own unique way. Following
the end of the First World War, U.S
President Woodrow Wilson visited
Carlisle in what he called a “Pilgrimage of
the Heart” as he sought to know more
about his mother’s homeland. He stayed
at the Crown and Mitre Hotel for his
visit. It was also here at the Crown and
Mitre, where he was given the freedom
of the city in December 1918. Woodrow
Wilson has left an impression on the
City with a plaque outside the Church
where his mother’s father was a
minister and also, in traditional British
fashion, a pub named after him.
Whilst Woodrow Wilson would have
struggled to have explored the city as
freely as I could (after all, I’m just a
writer and not the President of the
United States), he would have at least
seen some of the highlights on this list
as Inside History explores what we
consider to be the top five things you
can do on your visit to Carlisle.
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INSIDE HISTORY 63

1
TULLIE HOUSE
If you come to Carlisle then you simply have to
spend a few hours in Tullie House Museum and
Art Gallery. The Roman exhibition is a particular
highlight with archaeology at its very core. A
stunning visual presentation about Roman
Emporers kicks off the exhibit before exploring
the archaeological finds in and around Carlisle.
Created in partnership with the British Museum,
the displays are of a high standard. From day to
day life in Roman Carlisle to the significance of
Walls throughout time and even a Roman
murder mystery. This particular exhibit will keep
those who love Roman history occupied for a
long time.
The rest of the museum is an interesting mix of
history, natural history and even costumes. It
would be easy to find yourself engrossed in the
displays on offer. The museum not only
quenches your thirst for knowledge but also
with a large cafe, can also quench your
appetites.
2
HADRIAN'S WALL
A trip to Carlisle would not be complete without
a trip to possibly its most famous landmark.
Hadrian’s Wall spans 73 miles across northern
England and was made a World Heritage Site in
1987. Taking approximately six years to
complete, the wall is believed to have begun
construction following a visit by Emperor
Hadrian in AD 122 to separate what was
deemed to be the barbarians of the north from
the Roman Empire. The wall today might be
incomplete but it is easy to imagine its sheer
vastness.
With only parts of the wall now accessible there
is still plenty to see and learn. From the
Birdowald Roman Fort, the Roman Army
Museum in Walltown, and the Vindolanda, all of
which have parts of the Wall to stroll along.
However, select your timing right to visit the
majority of these attractions as most are closed
in the winter months. Yet, the parts of the wall
that remain, are never closed if you fancy a
winter hike along the wall and to take in their
beautiful surroundings.
64 INSIDE HISTORY

INSIDE HISTORY 65

3
Carlisle castle
For nine centuries, Carlisle Castle has proudly
dominated the city. During its history, It has withstood
many sieges, held captive a royal prisoner, and been
home to the King's Own Royal Border Regiment.
You can visit the turret in which Mary, Queen of Scots
was held captive from 1568, by order of her cousin
Queen Elizabeth I.
Its vibrant exhibition tells us even more where you can
discover more stories, from Mary Queen of Scots, and
Bonnie Prince Charlie, to notorious
Border Reivers such as Kinmont
Willie Armstrong. Hear about his
4
dramatic rescue in the exhibition.
Be sure to check out the famed Prisoners' carvings.
Originally thought to have been carved by prisoners,
recent research suggests that they may be the work of
bored prison guards. Probably dating back to the 15th
century they show support for the ruling family of the
time, the Dacres, and include images of their crests.
With so much to see and do at Carlisle Castle make sure
to dedicate enough time to make the most of it. I
suggest a whole afternoon. Also on the grounds is our
next attraction which is well worth checking out whilst
you on the castle's grounds.
CUMBRIA'S MUSEUM OF MILITARY LIFE
Situated just outside Carlisle Castle is Cumbria’s
Museum of Military Life. It might be small but
remember, good things often come in small packages
and this delightful museum is a testament to that
statement. This museum is dedicated to the 300-year
history of Cumbria’s Army Regiments and told through
displays, artifacts as well as impressive visual and video
presentations narrated by popular television presenter
and Carlise’s own, Helen Skelton.
What was particularly poignant was the inclusion of
some personal stories within the displays including that
of Private James Smith who was awarded the Victoria
Cross for rescuing wounded soldiers in No Man’s Land
from the 19th to 21st December 1914. The collections
are well-curated leaving you with plenty to see at your
own pace.
66 INSIDE HISTORY

5 CARLISLE CATHEDRAL INSIDE HISTORY 67
It might be the second smallest Catherdral in England but
for what it lacks in size, it makes up for in splendor. Its starfilled
Choir Ceiling might be restoration but it certainly
catches the eye. A stand-out piece of artwork perfect to
gaze at, contemplate and pray. But that is not to say not
that everything in the Cathedral is restoration work as
there are plenty of original features dating back to the
medieval period. A set of four painted medieval panels
might have seen better days but they are perfect just the
way they are. One depicts the twelve apostles whilst the
other three illustrate the lives of St Anthony of Egypt, St
Augustine of Hippo, and St Cuthbert of Lindisfarne.
The East Window is stunningly spectacular. At 50 feet high,
some of the original stained glass remains near the top
whilst the lower part depicting the life of Christ, dates from
1861. Also be sure to check out the amazing treasures of
the Treasury.
Carlisle is a special place for history enthusiasts that is
for sure. However, whether you are here for its history
or not, there is something special about this city. The
locals are friendly, the city centre is immaculately clean
and with its independent restaurants, it is also a place of
gastronomical variance. No matter whether you are
staying for a few days or even a day trip as part of your
Lake District adventures, the stunning City of Carlisle
has something for everyone and plenty to keep you
occupied. Woodrow Wilson may have come to Carlisle
as part of his “Pilgrimage of the Heart” and it is easy to
understand why he called it that. Carlisle has a habit of
taking a piece of your heart with it, leaving you eager to
return.

DAy-trippers
British museum
the world of
stonehenge
The world of Stonehenge (17 February –
17 July 2022) is the UK’s first ever major
exhibition on the story of Stonehenge.
Key loans coming to the British Museum
include: Britain’s most spectacular grave
goods which were unearthed in the
shadow of Stonehenge; elaborate ancient
gold hats depicting the cosmos; and the
astonishing wooden monument –
dubbed Seahenge - that recently
emerged after millennia from the sands
of a Norfolk beach.
Stonehenge was built 4,500 years ago
around the same time as the Sphinx and
the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt. This
landmark exhibition will set the great
monument in the context of one of the
most remarkable eras on the islands of
Britain and Ireland, which saw huge social
and technological revolutions, alongside
fundamental changes in people’s
relationships with the sky, the land and
one another.
At the heart of the exhibition will be the
sensational loan of a 4,000-year-old
Bronze Age timber circle, dubbed
Seahenge due its similarity to Wiltshire’s
Stonehenge. It is a hugely significant and
extremely rare surviving example of a
timber monument that has also been
called “Stonehenge of the Sea.” It
reemerged on a remote Norfolk beach
in 1998 due to the shifting sands, and it
consists of a large upturned tree stump
surrounded by 54 wooden posts. The
oak posts, some up to 3m tall, were
tightly packed in a 6.6m diameter circle
with their bark-covered sides facing
outwards. Inside the circle was a mighty
oak, its roots upturned towards the
heavens like branches. Collectively the
circle creates a giant tree. A narrow
entranceway was aligned on the rising
midsummer sun and it is thought this
monument was used for ritual purposes.
Seahenge comes to the British Museum
from the Norfolk Museums Service,
where it is partially displayed at the Lynn
Museum in King’s Lynn. This is the first
time Seahenge has ever gone on loan.
Visitors to the exhibition at the British
Museum will see some of the
monument’s most important elements,
including many timber posts that have
never been displayed before. They will
also see the hugely important ‘doorway’
where worshippers would enter. Its
inclusion in the exhibition will help tell
the story of the shared beliefs that
68 INSIDE HISTORY

INSIDE HISTORY 69

Seahenge at the time of excavation. © Wendy George.
Dr Jennifer Wexler, project curator of The world of
Stonehenge at the British Museum, said: “If Stonehenge
is one of the world’s most remarkable surviving ancient
stone circles, then Seahenge is the equivalent in timber.
But as it was only rediscovered in 1998, it is still relatively
unknown. We know about some aspects of the
monument, including that it was constructed in the
spring and summer of 2049 BC, from mighty oaks. But
there’s much that still eludes us, including exactly what it
was used for. Perhaps the central upturned trunk was
used in funerary rituals to support a dead body. Perhaps
entering the circular shrine brought worshippers closer
to the otherworld. By displaying Seahenge in this
exhibition we hope to bring it to a wider audience, and it
provides an unparalleled opportunity to time travel back
to the moment when circles of stone and timber were at
the heart of people’s beliefs.”
Nearly two-thirds of the objects going on display in The
World of Stonehenge will be loans, with objects coming
from 35 lenders across the UK, the Republic of Ireland,
France, Italy, Germany, Denmark and Switzerland. Of
these, the majority have never been seen in the UK
before. Newly revealed today as going on show in the
exhibition are two rare and remarkable gold coneshaped
hats - the Schifferstadt gold hat from Germany
and the Avanton gold cone from France. This is the very
first time either will have been seen in Britain. These are
decorated with elaborate solar motifs that reflect the
religious importance of the sun during this era. Only two
other examples of these hats are known to have
survived. Serving as headgear during ceremonies or
rituals, they perhaps imbued the wearer with divine or
otherworldly status. Carefully buried alone or
accompanied by axes, rather than interred with the
deceased, it seems they were held in trust for the
community. Similar motifs are to be found on a belt plate
on loan from the National Museum of Denmark. This
example, and others like it, was found on the stomach of
a women buried in Scandinavia. Its conical central point
might represent the same concept as the sun hat, but in
miniature form.
Alongside the international loans, visitors will see some
of the most important objects unearthed in the
Stonehenge landscape, many of them now in the
collections of neighbouring museums. On loan from
Wiltshire Museum will be the whole hoard of objects that
accompanied a burial known as the Bush Barrow site.
This burial hoard has never been lent in its entirety
before. They include the ‘gold lozenge’ which is the finest
example of Bronze Age gold craftsmanship ever found in
Britain, which was buried across the chest of the Bush
Barrow chieftain. This grave, with commanding views of
Stonehenge, shows close parallels with the richest graves
from northern France, eastern Germany and even
Ancient Greece. The exhibition will illustrate these longdistance
connections.
From Salisbury Museum will be the treasures buried with
the Amesbury Archer, a man honoured with remarkable
grave goods after his death. His grave contained the
richest array of items ever found in a Bronze Age burial
site in the UK, and 39 of these items – including copper
knives, gold ornaments and flint tools – will travel to the
exhibition. The gold discovered is thought to be among
70 INSIDE HISTORY

The gold lozenge of the Bush Barrow grave goods, 1950–1600 BC Amesbury, Wiltshire, England.
Photographs taken by David Bukach. © Wiltshire Museum, Devizes
the earliest found in Britain. The Amesbury Archer was
also buried close to Stonehenge, but he came from the
area of modern day Switzerland or Germany. His early
dates mean that he could have participated in the
construction of the iconic phase of the stone circle.
Hartwig Fischer, Director of the British Museum, said: “To
understand the purpose of the great stone monument
constructed on Salisbury Plain, it is essential to consider
its contemporary world and the culture of its builders.
We are delighted to be able to do this in this
unprecedented exhibition. Over 430 exceptional objects
are being brought together, objects which are the last
and only testament of sophisticated and ingenious
people, and we are grateful to all of the lenders who
have made it possible.”
The exhibition has been organised with the State
Museum of Prehistory, Halle/Saale, Germany, who will be
lending the Nebra Sky Disc, the oldest surviving
representation of the cosmos anywhere in the world.
Decorated sun-disc from a woman’s belt, c. 1400
BC Langstrup, Frederiksborg Amt and Vellinge,
Fyn, Denmark. CC-BY-SA, Roberto Fortuna & Kira
Ursem, National Museum of Denmark
The world of Stonehenge
runs from 17 February – 17
July 2022 in the Sainsbury
Exhibitions Gallery at the
British Museum.
Open Saturday – Thursday
10.00–17.00, Friday 10.00–
20.30. Last entry 90 mins
before closing.
Details on Tickets below:
www.britishmuseum.org/
stonehenge
A full public programme of
events will accompany the
exhibition.
www.britishmuseum.org
INSIDE HISTORY 61