THE END
Notes
Arey sneaks touting the case
Thieves who specialise in robbing basements (arey sneaks) observing (touting) the house (case).
Broughton’s Rules
In 1743, undefeated pugilist Jack Broughton (c.1703–1789), who ran a boxing academy for the gentry in London (the amphitheatre on Oxford Road), formulated the first set of rules for the sport. Amongst other things, the rules banned hitting a man when he was down, or grabbing him below the waist or by the hair or breeches. Originally intended only for use in his academy, Broughton’s Rules were widely adopted and were not replaced until the introduction of the “New Rules” in 1838.
Bully
A man who protects prostitutes; often employed in a brothel.
Clouts
Cloths, rags.
Dive
To pick a pocket.
Flat
Someone easily cheated.
Gagging Acts (The Seditious Meetings Act and The Treasonable and Seditious Practices Act) (Also known as the Two Acts)
The Seditious Meetings Act and The Treasonable and Seditious Practices Act, known as the Gagging Acts, were passed in 1795 in an effort to suppress radical political societies, in particular the London Corresponding Society. The Seditious Meetings Act banned public meetings of more than fifty attendees unless a Magistrate’s Licence had first been obtained. The Act also gave magistrates the power to close a licensed meeting if they deemed speeches were likely to bring the King or constitution into contempt.
The Treasonable Practices Act extended the meaning of “high treason” to include any who “compassed or devised” the death, imprisonment, harm or deposition of the King, or who pressured him to change his policies. Where formerly treason had been defined as acts taken or plotted against the monarch, it now incorporated speaking or writing where no act had been carried out.
Grabs
Body snatchers.
Jerry Sneak
A sneak or informer (also a henpecked husband).
London
Corresponding Society
A radical men’s organisation founded by shoemaker Thomas Hardy (1752–1832) in 1792. The LCS called for universal male suffrage and annual parliaments, and welcomed the French Revolution. As its name suggests, it was in constant contact with radicals in other parts of the country. However, the Government took increasingly repressive measures against it, finally outlawing it in 1799.
Lumper
Labourer who loads or unloads ships’ cargoes.
Madge
A woman’s genitals.
Molly house
A brothel for homosexual men.
Mufflers
Padded boxing gloves.
Nabman
Police officer, constable.
Nattomy
A skeleton or body for dissection.
Pigeon
A man who is easily tricked.
Pock-fretten
Marked with smallpox.
Quartered
Divided into parts fewer or more than four (old usage; more familiar to us as meaning divided into four).
Resurrection Men
Men who steal bodies from graveyards in order to sell them to doctors and medical students for dissection.
Rhino
Money.
The Fancy
Followers of boxing. (Also used of other sports, e.g. pigeon fanciers.)
Thing
A corpse.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all the people who have helped me in the writing of this book. I am grateful to Sanjida O’Connell of ARC Editorial for reading an early draft; to my beta readers David Penny, Debbie Young, Richard Tearle and Alison Morton for their thoughtful comments; to Alison Jack for her editorial services; and to Helen Hart and the team at SilverWood Books for being so lovely to work with. Special thanks to my sister and formidable editor, Glynis van Uden, who never misses a thing, and to Helen French for advice on forensic pathology. As ever, I can’t thank my husband, Gerard, enough for his support, enthusiasm and optimism. And above all, thank you to the readers who were kind enough to ask, “When will there be another Dan Foster Mystery?” I hope you have enjoyed this one!
Bow Street Runners and bare-knuckle fighters, radicals and pickpockets, resurrection men and bluestockings… Find out more about Dan Foster’s world at www.lucienneboyce.com
About the Author
Lucienne Boyce has always been fascinated by the Georgian Era. In 2006 she gained an MA in English Literature with the Open University specialising in eighteenth-century fiction. She has been a member of the Historical Novel Society since shortly after its foundation. She is a member of the steering committee of the West of England and South Wales Women’s History Network. The first Dan Foster Mystery, Bloodie Bones, was joint winner of the 2016 Historical Novel Society Indie Award, and was also a semi-finalist in the M M Bennetts Award for Historical Fiction 2016.
Want to know more?
Find Lucienne Boyce on Twitter: @LucienneWrite
You can also stay up-to-date by visiting her website www.lucienneboyce.com
Other Titles by Lucienne Boyce
To The Fair Land
Dan Foster Mystery series
Bloodie Bones
The Fatal Coin
Non-Fiction
The Bristol Suffragettes
The Road to Representation: Essays on the Women’s Suffrage Campaign
Copyright Notice
Published in 2017 by SilverWood Books
SilverWood Books Ltd
14 Small Street, Bristol, BS1 1DE, United Kingdom
www.silverwoodbooks.co.uk
Copyright © Lucienne Boyce 2017
The right of Lucienne Boyce to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 Sections 77 and 78.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright holder.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ISBN 978-1-78132-676-3 (paperback)
ISBN 978-1-78132-677-0 (ebook)
The Butcher's Block Page 23
