Leatherface

This is the afterlife of John Neville… Despite being hanged by the neck at Tyburn, the ghost of John Neville, popularly known as Leatherface, still haunts the road, with stories of his exploits carrying across the English Channel to France. Even with a prize-fighter numbered amongst his fellow-passengers Mr Fisher, a parson, is so discomforted that the youngest of them, a sixteen-year-old boy, offers to carry the brooch intended for his wife. After all, who would suspect him of possessing anything of value? Disembarking at Dover, the weary band gather at the Royal George Inn and place themselves in the hands of a coachman and his bodyguard as they set off on the road to London. But when their coach becomes plagued by misfortune, it becomes clear that not all of them are who they appear to be and the boy determines upon a course of action so reckless, so evocative of the highwayman, Leatherface, that he becomes trapped in a web where the gallows lies at its heart … Capturing the perils of life, society and travel in eighteenth-century England, Ernest Dudley’s novel is told from the boy’s perspective as he learns how actions have consequences, however well-intended. Perfect for fans of Rosemary Sutcliff and Christopher Nicole, this is a classic swashbuckling adventure that leaps from one predicament to another, thrilling you until the page. Ernest Dudley (1908–2006) ran away from home at seventeen to become an actor in a Shakespearean troupe, later meeting his wife on the set of Peter Pan. Turning his attention towards writing, Dudley went on to become known as the creator of Dr Morelle and The Armchair Detective, and was also a founding member of the Crime Writers’ Association.

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