| The Murderess and the Hangman  The Murderess and the Hangman is a story of murder with a twist. It is told from both sides of the scaffold. In 1879 William Marwood, 'gentleman hangman' for London and Middlesex, hanged 'callous murderess' Kate Webster. Her crime? The axe-murder of her landlady, Mrs Julia Thomas, in the leafy suburb of Richmond, London.
But is everything as clear as it seems? Certainly she is guilty, as we are told the story from both Kate's and Marwood's points of view. But when you set what Marwood does for a living against Kate's struggle in life, is there any room for forgiveness, understanding, redemption even? And what of the hangman who coolly moves from one execution to the next? Marwood was a professional hangman, Kate a thief attracted by the tales he tells of his past hangings - hardly the most usual of romances! Both Marwood and Kate were really people, and he really did hang her for the crime. But there is no evidence they actually knew each other. I would therefore term my novel speculative fiction, faction, or a fantasy built on fact. In addition to these characters, I wanted to explore the nature of the victim, Mrs Julia Thomas, as well as the police detectives - the new officers of the Bow Street Runners - here Inspector Gil Sequin and Nimrod Jones, as they pursue Kate across London, England itself, and eventually Ireland - in order to bring her back to Marwood's gentle arms.
The Noose
A common hangman or "Jack Ketch" blames his tools. S'blood and death. England must have its justice, and as any good Jack Ketch would say: "Toe the line, swing for us, and do the dance of death!"
 This image shows the top of the Old Bailey Criminal Court where Kate Webster famously went on trial for the murder of Mrs Julia Thomas.
In 1879 murder was executed with blood and laughter. The noose hangs above our heads, all our lives. Matt Fullerty is currently writing The Murderess and the Hangman.
Word Count for The Murderess and the Hangman
| | Mugshots: William Marwood, the executioner  Here are William Marwood's strange eyes, one inert and the other cruel. And yet he was such a polite gentleman executioner.
A man of science, he spent his career as executioner trying to quicken the 'dance of death' at the end of his hangman's rope. Then one day he was asked to hang one of his own acquaintances, a young woman he has been courting, and now accused of a horrific crime. That woman of course was Catherine Lawler, better known as Kate Webster.
Mugshots: Kate Webster, the killer  This is Kate Webster, proud and mournful... Born in County Wexford, Ireland, after a tough upbringing she made her criminal career in Liverpool, and eventually London. Here she thrived for a while, but was often in and out of jail, until eventually she hit on a scheme to impersonate her victims while selling their possessions. If only she didn't enjoy the Tyburn reenactments, the attractions of the street theatre of Cvent Garden, the Punch and Judy shows and Bartholomev Fair, she may well never have fallen from grace. For who but William Marwood enjoyed those entertainments too?
The Murderess and the Hangman
The hangman and the murderess: Marwood was socially conscious of his stigma as 'walking death', Kate was a failed petty criminal impersonating her own victim. He was trying to help society - strange as it may seem - by inventing the 'long drop' to humanely break necks. She was helping her little boy Daniel to pickpocket his way through life. Englishman and Irishwoman, they were together but always on opposing sides of the law. But as the police close in, and the (headless) body of Julia Thomas is found in a trunk in the Thames, Kate must be hanged by Marwood for killing her landlady for a few pieces of furniture...As someone shouts from the crowd, we hurt the ones we love the most!
 This is the gallows at Wandsworth Prison, London, similar to the ones used to execute Kate Webster in 1879. Note the nearby lever to activate the 'long drop.' The room was a self-enclosed execution chamber, and portable.
It was known affectionately as "The Cold Meat Shed."
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