Rating: 
Summary: Rider Sandman is my hero
Review: I highly recommend this intelligent and exciting novel set in Regency England. Bernard Cornwell has given us an insolvent war hero, who also is an outstanding cricket player, recruited (on request of the queen) to determine if a man condemned to die is actually guilty of murder. The opening chapter of the book takes the reader to a hanging and follows it up with a breakfast of kidneys -- a most memorable start for this breakneck paced mystery. Rider Sandman is a very likeable hero, ethical in the extreme, who will not rest until he finds out who indeed murdered the lightskirted wife of an English nobleman. In the process, he recruits a former soldier, an opera girl and her highwayman brother, as well as friends who knew him before his father disgraced the family name and lost the family fortune. Along the way, he has to deal with conflicted feelings about his former love, whose parents forced the young lady in question to break off her engagment to Sandman when his father committed suicide. This book takes the reader from the city of London to the countryside and back again, with some side trips to the cricket field. According to the author's website, there are many fans who hope for a sequel to "Gallows Thief," however Mr Cornwell is not committing himself at this time. We live in hope!
Rating: 
Summary: a terrifically good and exciting read
Review: I really do hope that "Gallows Thief" is the first book in a projected series. It was such a swashbucklingly good read, full of ambiance that's really evocative of the age, and a parade of lovingly detailed characters (both the good and the creepy) that stayed with me long after I finished the book. Definitely, "Gallows Thief" is a must read for all historical mystery fans.Charles Corday, a young portrait painter has been found guilty of the rape and murder of Lady Avebury, whose portrait he was in the process of painting, and he is to hang in a weeks' time. However, Corday also happens to be the son of the Queen's seamstress. And the seamstress has petitioned the Queen for the case to be reinvestigated, and Lord Sidmouth, the Secretary of State in the Home Department is not happy at all. HE is sure of Corday's guilt and that the case was properly investigated, and is rather affronted that political pressure has been applied for Corday's guilt (or lack of) to be confirmed. He needs someone to do a pro-forma investigation -- to go through the motions, not create and waves and not to uncover any new evidence, but to merely reconfirm Corday's guilt. And the man that Sidmouth has been recommended for such a job happens to be Rider Sandman, a veteran of the Peninsula campaign, who happens to be currently without a job or funds. The job is a temporary one, but the reward for a job well done is substantial. And so Sandman accepts the commission and sets of for the Old Bailey in order to interview Corday and wring a confession out of him. What he finds however is a pathetic creature who (in Sandman's mind at least) seems an unlikely rapist-murderer. Corday further flabbergasts Sandman by claiming that he was never alone with the Countess and that her maid was always with them as a chaperone. Said maid has since disappeared, thus was unable to provide Corday with an alibi. Confused, Sandman is unsure what his next course of action should be -- should he ignore what Corday's claims or should he look for the mysteriously missing maid? With the help of some rather unlikely characters (his good friend, the Reverend Lord Alexander Pleydell, and actress Sally Hood) Sandman begins his unsolicited quest for the truth. "Gallows Thief" was a truly fun and absorbing read. Bernard Cornwell really made England of the early 19th century come alive -- the sights and sounds and smells and the feel ... it was all there. If you're looking for a good historical novel that gives consideration to the social and political realities of the time, you'll be more than satisfied with this book. The plot unfolded in a brisk and smooth manner, and I was so caught up with what was going on, that I fairly devoured the book in one go! And the hero of this book (hopefully series) is bound to engage as well -- kind, honest, noble yet proud -- very much the white knight of detecting! All in all, "Gallows Thief" is a terrifically good and exciting read, and one that (esp if you are a Regency mystery addict) should not be missed.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I truly enjoyed this book. If you like historical fiction - get this book! Mr. Cornwell really makes history come alive with the story of the Newgate prison, the politics and class divisions of early 19th century England and, if you are a cricket fan, this book is definitely for you! I hope this is the first in a series of books with the same characters; they are very well developed and the ending is primed for a sequel. Also, I would really like the stories of some of the secondary characters to be told (especially Sally's Highwayman brother).
Rating: 
Summary: fades in the stretch...
Review: I'd rate the first half or so 4 stars, the second half 2 stars.
The first half does a good job of portraying the very thin
veneer between the upper classes and the lower classes--the
upper crust being, by and large, as corrupt as those who are
in the condemned cells in Newgate Prison--but the upper class
people very rarely are punished for the crimes that the lower
classes are hanged or transported for. The hero, Rider Sandman,
mixes between the two classes well. The second half of the book starts to wander: there is less
of historical/sociological interest as Sandman gathers his team
to uncover the real murderer. The climax--let me put that in
quotes "climax" --is a last-minute, last-second race to get a
reprieve for the wrongly accused man and rescue him from the
gallows. This last-minute race to save an innocent person from
execution has been overworked to death in novels--it always seems
that the reprieve is at the last second, rather than a day or a
week before the execution--this has come to resemble the almost
inevitable car chase in action movies--original variations of
car chases are few and far between. So the interest generated by
the first half of the book is not sustained in the second half.
Rating:
Summary: Shows up the brutality of captial punishment
Review: John Keane in his book "Tom Paine" wrote that: "Among he supreme ironies of the (late 18th and early 19th centuries)... was that England, renowed as the home of liberty and good government, was imposing Europe's most barbarous criminal code on a population that was among the least violent in the region."
Bernard Cornwell, as he has done in his Richard Sharp series, bases this book loosely on a historical event, here it is the widespread imposition of the death penalty in England in the past. By 1820, the author points out that there were more than two hundred capital crimes in England, most of which were crimes against property, including such minor offenses as the theft of an orange or a loaf of bread. This great expansion of capital crimes is something that is not taught in school as part of the history of the industrial revolution in England. These executions were carried out to protect the property of the new class of industrial capitalist. Hanging a thief meant that he or she could not steal again.
Cornwell does a good job in describing the circus-like atmosphere surrounding these hangings. Crowds flocked to watch.
Vendors sold food and souveniers. The hangman sold pieces of the rope he used. Cornwell also depicts the brutality of hanging.
It was a slow agonizing death in many cases. Today, botched executions by lethal injection has resulted in similar deaths.
I hope the author uses his protagonist in this book. An
individual who literally cheated the gallows by investigating a murder case to find evidence to prevent the hanging of an innocent person charged with murder. Cornwell deftly intertwines a murder mystery with a twist to keep the reader in suspense as to who the murderer is.
Using fiction to depict the brutality of capital punishment as a backdrop for a good mystery story is one good way to show up the uncivilized hangover of murder by government.
Rating:
Summary: I hoped for more
Review: Loved the Arthur series, but was disappointed in this one. Never finished it. Poor character development.
Rating:
Summary: CORNWELL CAN DO BETTER!
Review: My first Cornwell outing was the incredible Grail Quest series - followed by the weak novel of Stonehenge. As an avid reader of historical fiction I try to be as patient and lenient as possible, because allowances have to be made in order to drive the story. Being of fair mind I read Gallow's Thief hoping that Rider Sandman would become another Thomas of Hookton (Grail Quest). Alas, disappointment set in quickly. First sign of trouble was the weak over-used plot, which the reader becomes aware of from the beginning: condemned man, may be innocent - find real killer before it's too late. Okay, big deal - there's a reason why we all like the classics. We shortly meet Rider, back from the war with France (Sharpe series territory) whom we learn is good at Cricket, so good that he makes a small amount of money playing for various teams. Cricket was mentioned so much that I was beginning to wonder if I was missing a crucial "cricket as analogy" connection that would have brought some dimension to this story. I fear not - Rider Sandman never grows as a character beyond the two dimensions of Cricket star and veteran.
Bottom Line: The story plods along from start to the predictable (groan) finish with really no excitement or surprises. I think Cornwall is a great writer and I'll continue to read is work, but the unevenness of his novels is frustrating.
Rating:
Summary: I hope Mr. Cornwell gives continuity to this one.
Review: Really I think this one is an alternative subject on wich he moves with easyness and masterfully knowledge, and the hero is very different from Sharpe (but less cryptical references to cricket will be a plus really!...) and for once a relieve someone from the uppercrust society wich is not a pervert, a thief, a gambler, a fool or any other variety to wich we've been treated abundantly on the Sharpe's series...
I am a fan of the Sharpe's Novels, even the AWI "Redcoat" was good, I liked the Warlord Trilogy (wich I think is his better work up to date), found entertaining the sea novels, less good his ACW series (wich I found a pity not up to the Napoleonic period one's), disliked Stonehenge (a lot), and have read all Cornwell's writings since now except the second volume of the Grail Quest as I found the first one had a confusing plot (and really "Moyen Age" France is not my favorite period). So I like his style and way of writing but not always the subject.
Belive me this one is up to Sharpe's standarts and merites continuity (in fact will be a companion of Mallinson's M.Hervey in period...), and disgressing a bit is it true Sharpe's son (a Frenchman by birth) will be an officer on the Chasseurs d'Afrique and ride to the rescue of the Light Brigade in the Crimea? (I think I read something about that somewhere...)
Anyhow since my first Sharpe back in 1982 I have always bought and read his work wich I really found very good and always average or above, would not claim any more title to truly recommend this one, Cornwell's fans won't be dissapointed, and I think if given a second volume has the chances to get better and better (wich did not happen to Starbuck incidently...).
GET IT AND ENJOY.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed in this book.
Review: The book jacket ends with this quote, "Gallows Thief combines the rich historical of ... and the taut suspense of ... to create an eviscerating portrait of capital punishment in nineteenth century London" This is my first of his books and he wastes his considerable story-telling skill on his oposition to inherited wealth and capital punishment.
The 'evil' characters lack any depth, the poor and lawless are 'better' than the upper classes. His descriptions of the evils of Newgate Prison, guards and executioners goes on and on.
I've just started reading historical mysteries and am really enjoying them - disappointed in this one.
Rating:
Summary: If you loved the Richard Sharpe novels you will love this!
Review: The Gallows Thief is enriched by excellent period research but not overwhelmed by it. Bernard Cornwell is a brilliant writer who knows how to weave research throughout his narrative to give a Regency feel but still make it comprehensible to modern readers who may not have a Regency sensibility. The characters are well-rounded, interesting, and grab the reader's imagination. Captain Rider Sandman is the consummate Regency hero, intelligent, physically brave, craggily handsome, sympathetic to the plight of others. Here he is forced to work for his living -- demoting him from the ranks of gentlemen -- to support himself, his widowed mother, and sister. His father, a suicide, gambled and speculated away the sizable family fortune and lands and it is now up to his son to try to make things right, beginning with paying off tradesmen devastated by their losses. A gallows thief saves those sentenced to death by hanging. The fascinating twist to this mystery is that the sentenced rapist/murder, Charles Corday/aka/Cruttwell, is not a likable character. Despite his own feelings toward Corday, Sandman is soon convinced of his innocence and sets out to prove it. The action is non-stop and the book impossible to put down. I could not recommend this more highly as both a fan of Regency-set novels and an author myself of Regency fiction. Please, HarperCollins, offer Cornwell a contract for more Sandman novels! We want to know what happens to him and to all the equally marvelous secondary characters Cornwell has introduced. Jack Hood, the dishy highwayman, certainly deserves a plot of his own! And, whatever your opinion concerning capital punishment, the cruel practice of hanging will give you food for thought. Hanged for stealing a watch? For your mistress's pearls, even though you didn't do it? The descriptions of hanging are not for those who don't have strong stomachs, but this did happen, and often (between 1816 and 1820, there were over 100 hangings a year, most for robbery). This novel is set in 1817.
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