Executions and the British Experience from the 17th to the 20th Century

William B. Thesing, distinguished professor emeritus of English at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, taught graduate and undergraduate courses for more than 30 years. He has authored or edited fifteen books, and served as editor of the James Dickey Newsletter from 2003–2008.

“the best essays exhibiting a solid concentration of intellect on capital punishment”—South Atlantic Review; “well-written and perceptive essays”—The Georgia Review.

• Table of ContentsIntroductionWilliam B. Thesing1The Aesthetic Execution of Charles I: Clarendon to HumeDonald T. SiebertLocke and Beccaria: Faculty Psychology and Capital PunishmentSteven LynnHenry Fielding and “A Certain Wooden Edifice” Called the GallowsGayle R. SwansonCrime and Punishment in 1777: The Execution of the Reverend Dr. William Dodd and Its Impact upon His ContemporariesJohn J. Burke, Jr.The Public Execution: Urban Phetoric and Victorian CrowdsBarry Faulk“All the Hideous Apparatus of Death”: Dickens and ExecutionF. S. SchwarzbachThe Execution of Tess d’Urberville at WintoncesterBeth KalikoffThe Frame for the Feeling: Hangings in Poetry by Wordsworth, Patmore, and HousmanWilliam B. Thesing“Hats Off!”: The Roots of Victorian Public HangingsMichael JasperPublic Executions in Victorian England: A Reform Adrift David D. CooperSelected BibliographyIndexContributors