Enoch`s Hammer: A Tale of the Yorkshire Luddites
by John WheatleyPublish: Jul 27, 2019Historical Fiction Book Overview
Set in 1812,`Enoch`s Hammer` follows the story of the so-called Luddites of Yorkshire from their first major uprising in February 1812 to the mass trial at York in January 1813 which led to multiple hangings and transportations. It focuses on the three men who were hanged for the murder of William Horsfall, an industrialist, George Mellor, William Thorpe and Thomas Smith, and makes an imaginative reconstruction of their personal and private lives. The other major characters are Joseph Radcliffe, the Magistrate of Milnsbridge House, who was obsessive in hunting down the Luddites and making convictions, John Lloyd, a solicitor who brought new and devious techniques to the art of interrogation, and Lieutenant General the Hon. George Maitland who co-ordinated the military effort to suppress the Luddite movement, and who co-ordinated the York trials.
