<DIV>John Tawell was a sincere English Quaker but a sinning one. Convicted of forgery, he was transported to Sydney, where he opened Australia’s first pharmacy and made a fortune. When he returned home after 15 years, he thought he would be welcomed; instead he was shunned. He was struggling financially when on New Year's Day 1845 he boarded a train to Paddington Station, London. Soon, policemen arrived at the platform chasing a murderer ? but the 7:42 had departed. The railway was experimenting with a newfangled instrument, the telegraph, so a message was sent: a ?KWAKER” man was on the run. The trial became a sensation, involving poisoning, sexual scandal, and very little hard evidence, but it helped to secure the telegraph's fame ? and usher in the communication age. A true tale of murder and scientific revolution, <I>The Peculiar Case of the Electric Constable</I> is historical crime writing at its best.<BR></DIV>