Mr Briggs' Hat

In July 1864, Thomas Briggs was travelling home after visiting his niece and her husband for dinner. He entered a First Class carriage on the 9.45pm Hackney service of the North London railway. At Hackney, two bank clerks entered the carriage and discovered blood in the seat cushions; also on the floor, windows and sides of the carriage. A bloodstained hat was found on the seat along with a broken link from a watch chain.

The race to identify the killer and catch him as he flees on a boat to America was eagerly followed by citizens both sides of the Atlantic.

Kate Colquhoun tells a gripping tale of a crime that shocked the nation.

Short-listed for CWA Daggers: Non-fiction 2011 (UK)

“With a storyteller's instinct for colour and suspense Kate Colquhoun has brilliantly recreated the five-month period from Thomas Briggs' death to Muller's execution”

(A) thrilling book, which reads at times like a good Victorian novel... an utterly compelling did-he-do-it Sunday Times
Deploying her skill as a historian, Colquhoun turns a single curious murder case into a fascinatingly quirky portrait of the underside of mid-Victorian London. I found it unputdownable Daily Telegraph
Kate Colquhoun is a fine, robust writer who makes the most of its every twist and turn Mail on Sunday
Daily Express
Kate Colquhoun's irreproachable unpicking of the case is meticulous, patient, thorough and measured Independent

Kate Colquhoun's previous non fiction titles were shortlisted for the Duff Cooper Prize 2004 and longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize 2003. As well as writing for several newspapers and magazines, she appears regularly on national radio and television. She lives in London with her husband and two sons.

On 9 July 1864, businessman Thomas Briggs walked into carriage 69 on the 9.45 Hackney-bound train. A few minutes later, two bank clerks entered the carriage - but as they sat down, one of them noticed blood pooled in the seat cushions. And then he saw the blood smeared all over the floor and windows, and a bloody handprint on the door... But there was no sign of Thomas Briggs. The only things left in the carriage were his walking stick, his bag - and a hat that, strangely, did not belong to Mr Briggs... 'A riveting portrait of Victorian London' Financial Times 'A cunning and suspenseful tale' The Independent 'A sensationally episodic tale that is every bit as compelling as it must have been when it happened' Easy Living

In July 1864, Thomas Briggs was travelling home after visiting his niece and her husband for dinner. He entered a First Class carriage on the 9.45pm Hackney service of the North London railway. At Hackney, two bank clerks entered the carriage and discovered blood in the seat cushions; also on the floor, windows and sides of the carriage. A bloodstained hat was found on the seat along with a broken link from a watch chain.The race to identify the killer and catch him as he flees on a boat to America was eagerly followed by citizens both sides of the Atlantic.Kate Colquhoun tells a gripping tale of a crime that shocked the nation.

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