BLOG TOUR: Jack the Ripper and Abraham Lincoln - Tony McMahon

An astonishing connection between two of the 19th century’s greatest crimes.

A fraudulent doctor, Francis Tumblety, is implicated in both the 1865 assassination of President Abraham Lincoln and the 1888 Jack the Ripper killings. It seems incredible that Jack the Ripper could have been involved in killing President Lincoln, but the evidence is revealed in this book.

We delve into a murky underworld in America’s Gilded Age and the poverty ridden slums of London’s Whitechapel district following the murderous trail left by Tumblety. A flamboyant huckster, well known in the newspaper gossip columns, whose celebrity masked his homicidal tendencies.

Arrested over the Lincoln assassination then released while others were hanged on the scaffold. Put behind bars briefly by Scotland over the Jack the Ripper killings but then makes a daring escape. The proof is overwhelming that Tumblety was one of the most dangerous criminals of the 19th century.

 

What did I think?

I was immediately drawn to this strangely titled book as, much like the author, I am fascinated by the unsolved mystery of Jack the Ripper.  I would never have expected to see the names Jack the Ripper and Abraham Lincoln on the same page never mind read a whole book about this jaw-dropping link.

I previously knew very little about Lincoln's assassination other than the name of his killer, but as with most events of this magnitude there's usually more than one person involved in the planning even if only one person can fire the gun.  This is where Francis Tumblety comes in and it sounds like you would have had to have been blind not to notice him if you saw him on the street.  A quack herb doctor dressed in military uniform, Tumblety would make Freddie Mercury look inconspicuous.

Tony McMahon takes the reader on a mesmerising journey from Washington USA to Whitechapel UK as he uncovers a firm link between the two famous crimes.  The author's research is impeccable and with the facts set out before us it is both eye-opening and jaw-dropping that Tumblety managed to literally get away with murder.

Whilst the majority of the book is set in America and focusses on the Lincoln aspect, it's still a fascinating read for anyone interested in the Jack the Ripper story.  I also found it interesting to read about LGBT back in the 19th century and although it was illegal, same sex relationships happened perhaps where you might least expect it.

Well-researched, thought-provoking and completely fascinating, Jack the Ripper and Abraham Lincoln is a must-read for any fans of true crime.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

About the author:

Tony McMahon is an experienced investigative journalist, news and features editor, and consultant to governments and NGOs on issues like countering violent extremism and counter terrorism. A former BBC producer and Sky News reporter before becoming a communications consultant working with government clients (Home Office, US State Department) on issues like radicalisation and extremism-related violence. 

For the last decade, he has been a regular contributor on TV history and science documentaries covering a wide range of issues and originating programme ideas. This includes multiple episodes/seasons of William Shatner’s The UnXplained (Prometheus/History), Secrets of the Royal Palaces (Viacom/Channel 5), Truthseekers (Big Media/History) and Forbidden History (LikeAShot/UKTV and Sky History).

The idea to investigate Francis Tumblety arose after being invited to talk about Jack the Ripper on Sky History’s 2022 documentary series: William Shatner’s The UnXplained. During the research process ahead of filming, the linkage between the

Lincoln assassination and the Jack the Ripper murders emerged. 

He has written two biographies with black British themes – his biography of the late middleweight boxer Errol Christie – No Place To Hide (Aurum Press) was shortlisted for best sports biography of 2011 and long-listed for the William Hill prize.

Tony was born in Walthamstow, east London, and has been fascinated by the Jack the Ripper story all his life. The main protagonist, Francis Tumblety, was both LGBT and Irish heritage – like the author – but that is where the similarity ends!

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PUBLICATION DAY PROMO: Queuing for the Queen - Swéta Rana

I am delighted to help share the paperback publication day love for Swéta Rana's novel Queuing for the Queen.  This book sounds absolutely delightful and I will be adding to my wish list.  Scroll down to find out more.

One queue. 250,000 people. Twenty-four life-changing hours.

A young boy wearing a cereal box crown, impatiently dragging his mother behind him.

A friendly man in a khaki raincoat, talking about his beloved Leeds United to anyone who will listen.

An elderly woman who has lived her life alongside the Queen, and is just hoping she’ll make it to the end of the queue to say goodbye.

And among them, a British Indian mother and daughter, driven apart by their differences, embarking on a pilgrimage which neither of them yet know will change their lives forever.

Full of secrets and surprises, this uplifting novel celebrates not only the remarkable woman who defined an era and a country, but also the diverse and unique people she served for so long.

Purchase Links 

Amazon UK 

Amazon.com

Kobo – the ebook is currently only 99p!!!

About the author:

Swéta Rana was born into a Gujarati family in Birmingham, and now lives in south London. She studied Philosophy and Theology at Oxford before doing a Master’s in Publishing at UCL. After working briefly in editorial at Orion, she moved into designing and managing commercial websites.

Swéta has enjoyed writing ever since she was a child, always taking any opportunity she can to write fiction pieces, film reviews, or articles on Indian culture. Queuing for the Queen is her first novel.

In her spare time, Swéta takes Hindi language classes, sings soprano in a chamber choir, and volunteers for a mental health charity.

Social Media Links:

Twitter: @s_rana_

Website: https://swetarana.com/ 

BLOG TOUR: The Choice - Claire Wade

Sugar is illegal. Baking is a crime. One woman’s desperate attempt to bring freedom back to her children’s lives.

Olivia Pritchard lives in constant fear since Mother Mason came into power. Everything from healthy eating to exercise is controlled by the government, all in the name of health and happiness. Olivia hates being dictated to, but to protect her family she must follow the rules or face a stay in the Shame Box - a transparent box in a public place for everyone to judge.

After Olivia witnesses an innocent woman being violently arrested, she is no longer able to ignore the injustice. The underground rebellion 'Cut The Apron Strings' is gaining momentum and for the first time in years Olivia has a choice: keep her head down or join the fray...

What did I think?

Oh my word, this book is brilliant; it's completely unforgettable.  I would have read it in one sitting if my eyes had obeyed the order to stay open.  Perhaps I should have threatened them with Mother Mason.

The Choice may sound like a bit of a horror novel at first glance: a future without sugar.  That's right, NO CHOCOLATE!  Claire Wade has very cleverly chosen to set her novel in a future that is very easy to imagine.  With reports of people getting fatter and lazier in real life, it's absolute genius to have characters wearing health monitors that, among other things, determine whether they have done enough steps to watch TV.  I actually think I might apply this rule to my own sedentary lifestyle.  Claire Wade may very well have changed my life!

The novel is set in Norwich and London after the people voted for a new government, led by Mother Mason.  Mother knows best, after all, but this mother rules with an iron fist and nobody voted for a regime ruled by fear and shame.  With cameras everywhere, Big Brother really is watching here and makes no secret of the fact.  Anybody caught breaking the rules, and when I say anybody I actually mean any woman, will get banished to the Shame Box or even worse will be sent into the Societal Evolution Programme, never to be seen again.  A group of people want to 'Cut The Apron Strings' and bring down Mother Mason and the main character, former baker Olivia, must join the rebellion if she wants the freedom to be able to bake again.

You could be forgiven for not recognising this as a debut novel as Claire Wade's exceptional writing comes across as very accomplished.  There's a paragraph where she describes chocolate in the most sublime way and I think I must have had a smell hallucination as I felt like I could smell it as well as taste it.  Honestly, I was almost drooling.  While I'm talking about the standard of writing, I was delighted to see one of my favourite words 'claggy' being used to describe a cheesecake.  With so much mouthwatering food being described, it's no wonder I gained a few pounds whilst reading it...over Christmas...eating lots of chocolate and cheesecake!

There's so much more I could say about The Choice but it's a book that everyone really needs to read to experience it for themselves.  It's a very thought-provoking and empowering book that reminds us to stand up for what we believe in and to have the courage and conviction to not follow the crowd.  Although I haven't yet read The Handmaid's Tale (shock!), I think The Choice will inevitably be compared to Margaret Atwood's masterpiece and will not be found wanting.

The Choice is an exceptional debut with an imaginative and powerful plot that had me hooked from start to finish.  It's both unputdownable and unforgettable; a simply magnificent book!  I think a lot of people will be talking about this book for a long time to come.  Fantastic feminist fiction that is very very highly recommended.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon




About the author:

Claire Wade is the winner of the Good Housekeeping Novel Competition 2018. She was bed bound for six years with severe ME, trapped in a body that wouldn't do what she wanted; her only escape through her imagination. She now writes about women who want to break free from the constraints of their lives, a subject she's deeply familiar with.

Her favourite things are books, baking and the WI. She's the founding president of a modern WI (Women's Institute) and runs a baking club for other cake lovers. You'll find her in her writing room, nicknamed Narnia because it's also home to a wardrobe and is the place where she escapes to other worlds. She's happiest if she's got a slice of chocolate cake, a cup of tea and a good book. Claire is based in Norwich and has been interviewed for BBC 1 Inside Out, as well as writing for media outlets such as the Daily Express, the Daily Mirror, Disability Now and her regular column in the Eastern Daily Press.

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Land of Plenty - Charlie Pye-Smith

Golden fields, ripening apples, lowing cattle: our idea of the landscape has been shaped by agriculture, as has the land itself. But in a fast-changing world, how does the great British countryside continue to provide the food we eat?

Most people living in Britain today must go back several generations before they find an ancestor who worked on the land. How much do we really know about those who are supplying us with the most essential things in life: our daily bread and butter, meat and fish, fruit and vegetables?

In Land of Plenty Charlie Pye-Smith travels the length and breadth of these isles to explore the little-understood world of British agriculture. From ultramodern indoor dairy units producing millions of litres of milk a year to small, old-fashioned farms making cheese with twenty or thirty cows, and from landowners whose families have farmed the same fields for centuries to tenants who have just joined the industry, Pye-Smith investigates the timeless connection between land and people in the twenty-first century.

Revealing the dairy industry in Somerset and Gloucestershire; beef in the Scottish Borders; sheep in North Yorkshire; pigs and poultry in East Anglia and Hampshire; vegetables in Norfolk; and fruit in Essex and the West Country, Land of Plenty is a colourful and rewarding travelogue that gets to the very heart of modern British life.

What did I think?

I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did; it is so informative and interesting with clearly defined chapters focused on particular aspects of farming.  When I picked up Land of Plenty, I didn't know a lot about farming but I certainly know a bit more now!

I was reading Land of Plenty when I went on a trip to the Ouseburn Valley and the guide made a comment about animals from the far east being brought to graze on the banks of the Ouseburn before being sent to slaughter, like it was a little health farm for them.  Thanks to Charlie Pye-Smith I knew why the farmers did this...I'm not going to tell you as it will spoil the amazement you will experience when reading it for yourself.

As a long time vegetarian, I did shudder at the passages on slaughter for the Halal and Kosher markets but found that farmers also found this barbaric and shocking.  Farmers may slaughter animals too but they care about their stock and aim to be as humane as possible.  I actually enjoyed reading about the cows and there's even a photo of four cows awaiting slaughter, which made me smile with its similarity to any four girlfriends gathering together for a group photo.

Land of Plenty is very current with references to Brexit and what it means for UK farmers; perhaps not the doom and gloom that we are told in the news but rather that farmers must become better at what they do with improved quality being passed to the consumers along with closer links to the public as farmers open up their arms to embrace exciting entrepreneurial activities.

A book about UK farming is not complete without mentioning the foot and mouth horror of 2001, which I remember quite clearly.  It was so refreshing to see how some farmers coped with this by looking for alternative means of survival of their farm rather than closing up shop after the death of their herd.

Although I'm a beer drinker, I also really enjoyed the chapter about cider.  From beef to cider, you can see that this book really encompasses every single aspect of farming that you can imagine.  Each chapter is filled with interesting facts and personal stories that add to the human interest and give a wonderful insight into the life of a UK farm.

Concise and informative, Land of Plenty is a surprisingly riveting read and one of the best non-fiction books I have read for a long time.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon