James and John: A True Story of Prejudice and Murder

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James and John: A True Story of Prejudice and Murder: Episode 5 - The Final Pleas

James and John: A True Story of Prejudice and Murder by Chris Bryant

Episode 5 - The Final Pleas

BBC Radio 4 - James and John: A True Story of Prejudice and Murder, Episode 5 - The Final Pleas

There was little chance of reprieve for the two men, but one last desperate hope remained.

There was little chance of reprieve, but one last desperate hope remained. James's wife, Elizabeth, began collecting names for a petition, in the hope of appealing to the King.

Read by Simon Russell Beale. Historian and MP Chris Bryant’s book takes us to the early 19th Century,  when despite great political and social change and reform, British attitudes to homosexuality were more antagonistic than ever, and in 1835 two consenting adults, James Pratt and John Smith, became the last men in Britain to be hanged for sodomy. They were working class men whose poverty and lack of privacy led directly to their discovery and arrest and, despite a desperate campaign to save them, resulted in one of the great legal injustices of the time.

Read by ..... Simon Russell Beale
Abridged by .... Julian Wilkinson
Produced by .... Allegra McIlroy

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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Chris Bryant tell the story of what it meant to be gay in early 19th-century Britain.

Book of the Week. Through the lens of a landmark trial, Chris Bryant scours public and private records to tell the story of what it meant to be gay in early 19th-century Britain.

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James and John: A True Story of Prejudice and Murder

Episode 5 - The Final Pleas

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