This book is a repository of intriguing, fascinating, obscure, strange, and entertaining facts and trivia about the history of the British criminal justice system. Armed with this fascinating tome, the reader will have such knowledge of the days when noses, hands, and heads were cut off, heretics burned at the stake, and rebels were hung, drawn, and quartered. They will be entertained and enthralled, and never short of some frivolous fact to enhance conversation or quiz! A reference book and a quirky guide, this can be dipped in to time and time again to reveal something new about the various forms of punishments inflicted on criminals; from ducking scolds, imposing curfews, tagging persistent offenders, and, where necessary, locking them up. A remarkably engaging little book, this is essential reading for all historians interested in the macabre side of British history.