In keeping with the Halloween season, the featured manuscript was written by a notorious 19th century British criminal, known as “Palmer the Poisoner.”

According to one account in the London Times, Dr. William Palmer (1824‑1856) became "enamoured of the turf" and his racing debts were what drove him to poison his wife, brother, and best friend John Parsons Cook while pretending to treat them for illness. Palmer was arrested in 1856 after an investigation showed that he was in line to benefit financially from all three deaths. Dr. Palmer's dastardly deeds were the sensation of all England. His trial had to be postponed for five months and moved from his hometown of Rugeley to London because of public outrage. As Palmer's notoriety grew so did the supposed number of his victims, as many as seventeen by some estimates. After a twelve-day trial in May of 1856, Palmer, found guilty of murdering at least Cook and was duly hanged on June 14, 1856. 

Note written by Palmer to his defense lawyer W. R. Grove during the trial. Note requests Grove to ask a witness about the horse Pole Star and money won on her at the Shrewsbury Race.

You can read more about William Palmer in the book They Hanged My Saintly Billy; the Life and Death of Dr. William Palmer by Robert Graves (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1957). Rush Rhees stacks PR 6013 .G776th