Mary Timney - the Road to the Gallows

A really well researched and written book. For lovers of Scotland, social history and true crime, this is an excellent book.

Like West Over The Waves, Mary Timney, The Road To The Gallows, is painstakingly researched.The story of the last woman to be publicly hanged in Scotland is built on documentary evidence of her impoverished life and brutal death.It's a compelling, if ghoulish read, written with attention to detail that makes Mary Timney more than just a name or a statistic.Baldwin steeps her story in the society and politics of the time and the poverty and hardship of the 19th century rural commoner, especially a female with children, is tangible.One social detail that stood out was attitudes in Scotland to tea drinking at that time. Rather than being a habit of the middle-classes and gentlewomen, the drink carried connotations similar to that of gin in 18th century London. Baldwin quotes Dr Helen O'Connell of Durham University, who describes how tea drinking was seen as "an affront to the virtues of frugality and restraint" - a drink that took women away from time spent with their families. Since Mary Timney was a tea drinker and borrowed leaves from her murdered neighbour, this detail was used to tarnish her name.We will never know the truth of the murder Timney was convicted of. Baldwin does not draw conclusions, and rightly so.This is a story of hardship and cruelty and although the context of those social ills may have changed, the ills themselves have not.Thankfully, though, Scotland no longer has the gallows.http://www.travelswithapen.com

Jayne Baldwin certainly knows how to bring history to life with this book. A huge amount of detailed research must have gone in to this and yet somehow it feels as if it's written more like a good novel. You are taken on a rollercoaster ride through the life and circumstances of murderess and victim with the heart-breaking end at the gallows. I had read West Over the Waves and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is an excellent read, which creates the image of the landscape and home of Mary Timney. You are drawn in and find yourself sympathising with her. Recommended read!

Two brutal killings - one by an impoverished young mother in rural Galloway, and another in the name of Queen Victoria in the civilised urban setting of Dumfries. If you enjoy reading about viciousness and terrible sadness, you will certainly find it in this tale, but more memorable and rewarding is Jayne Baldwin's detailed account of the social background of those involved in the minor incident that led to a charge of murder, and to the ponderous manner in which clever men in top hats brought an ignorant and unfortunate young woman to public execution in Dumfries. The balance brought to the story by Jayne Baldwin's careful research and clear unemotional prose is commendable. It is heartening to read that the public of Dumfries turned against the sentence demanded by the state, and utterly horrifying that their efforts to reverse it were in vain. Did we all learn from what happened? Perhaps not, since I witnessed the black cap being donned in Dumfries almost exactly 100 years later. If more people were aware of the facts revealed in this well presented and fascinating little book, many lives could perhaps have been spared.

This book was very good, not least because of the well structured footnotes and bibliography which shows the extensive research which was put in, as well as bringing to light this interesting event in 1862 in the history of Galloway in Scotland. Furthermore it ably explores both the murder and subsequent trial to show that while very probably guilty of the murder of Ann Hannah, Mary Timney did not get a trial that considered all the evidence, was not granted a sentence short of execution that others guilty of murder had been, but also not given success in the appeal by many of the people of Dumfries and others against the sentence by the Home Secretary, that others were given. For example evidence in the police statements of Mary Timney's kindness to the children of Mary Barbour who lived nearby, is noted as evidence that wasn't given in court even though this evidence only exists because of the police investigation. Also by including discussion of the campaigns against Capital Punishment led by William Ewart MP for Dumfries at the time, this book is able to provide a very good context for showing that British society was in debate over the validity of capital punishment but that it would ultimately hold on to it, all be it behind prison walls in private, rather than in public as in the case of Mary Timney. Therefore while clarification of the origins of certain terms such as the "Old Scots New Year" is possibly needed, this book very ably explores a thought provoking and interesting event in British and Scottish history as well as the local history of Galloway.

This is a book I have no hesitation in recommending. It is a really good read and you will experience so many emotions during the reading of these chapters, particularly with the harrowing scene leading up to Mary's execution. The author is obviously a meticulous researcher and skilfully displays here the rare ability to breathe life into the facts and characters that she uncovers. I read Jayne Baldwin's previous book West Over The Waves which I thoroughly enjoyed and was therefore looking forward to this book. It did not disappoint!

This is a great read. The author brings the woman and the time she livid in vividly to life. I loved the way she places the woman in her social context and really gives you a feel for both the woman and what happened to her. It really is a great read.

This book is meticulously written, covering every detail and brilliantly portrayed to convey the period it's set and the poor people involved in this horrific situation, quite a harrowing and grim story but conveyed in a very factual but fair manner, you can't help but feel empathy with this young Mum of four going to the Gallows! Well done Jayne!