Books by Dr Stephen Banks

Executions have played a crucial - if grisly and controversial - part in British history and provided the bloody climax to many a life, from Mary, Queen of Scots, Charles I and Dick Turpin to untold thousands of anonymous wretches whose names are now forgotten. This title details the history of formal execution in Britain.

A duel could result from any challenge to a gentleman's honour, from minor insult to major accusation. This title examines the evolution from Norman trials-by-combat to the formalised duel, analysing the custom's decline in England by Victorian times and its final disppearance from Europe by the twentieth century.