The incendiary : the misadventures of John the Painter, first modern terrorist / Jessica Warner.
TITLE:
The incendiary : the misadventures of John the Painter, first modern terrorist / Jessica Warner.
By:
Publication Date:
2005
Publication Information:
Toronto : McClelland & Stewart,
Physical Description:
298 p. : ill.
Geographic Term:
Summary:
This is the first full-length biography of that brilliant but disturbed young man. His story offers chilling parallels to the present – and insights into why certain young men are driven to commit unspeakable crimes. Warner has written a book of history that reads like a picaresque novel, but always with a modern twist. Its hero travels to France and receives the blessing of the American envoy there. King George III offers a reward for his capture. Bow Street Runners are sent out inpursuit. Newspapers print sensational stories. A bill to suspend habeas corpus is rushed through Parliament and American privateers – the unlawful combatants of their day – are held without being charged. The Incendiary takes readers on a fascinating journey from Europe to colonial America and finally to the gallows at Portsmouth.
Language:
English
ISBN:
9780771088087
General Note:
"A brief account of his short life, from his birth in Edinburgh, anno 1752, to his death, by hanging, in Portsmouth, anno 1777. To which was once appended a meditation on the eternal foolishness of young men."
