Murder in the Tower

the long version

"The title of this book is derived from two murders committed in the Tower of London: the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury at the instance of the Duke and Duchess of Somerset in 1613 is notorious; the death of the Earl of Essex in 1683, on the other hand, has usually been treated as suicide, in spite of the thorough investigation carried out at the time by Laurence Braddon, a barrister turned detective, and the whistle-blower par excellence." "The book also contains a miscellany of other cases from the 1730 edition of the State Trials: the Rye House Plot and the outrageous conduct of 'Judge Jeffreys' in his determination to ensure that justice was not done; murders and alleged murders including one where a leading barrister found himself in the dock; a three-a-side duel; an elopement and the attempted abduction of Anne Bracegirdle, one of the leading actresses of her time; piracy and murder at sea; and one of the last cases of witchcraft in which the Church and the law combined to defeat the persecution of the unfortunate woman." "Altogether the book presents a vivid picture of the law and forensic medicine and life in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries."--BOOK JACKET.