London : Printed by W.S. Fortey, Monmouth Court, Bloomsbury, W.C., [18–]

As the title of this short booklet suggests, Dick Turpin was one of the most notorious highwaymen of any period. His childhood started out positively; he attended school and became apprenticed to a butcher. But his parents’ indulgence with money allowed him to consort with “the blades of the road”, which led to his downfall. Marriage failed to tame him, and he set about stealing cattle before graduating to highway robbery, doing so under the pretence of a figure of authority. To begin with he worked alone, only later joining with a band of brigands to terrify entire counties. In this re-telling of the stories, we see the men sharing the spoils of their crimes with each other, which “proves the old adage, there is honour among thieves”.

In contrast to the simple notices about highway robberies committed in the 1780s, this crudely illustrated and hand-coloured version of the story presents it in a sensational way for a Victorian audience about a century after Turpin’s death in 1739. Later in the nineteenth century he would come to be moulded into a Robin Hood figure, one who stole from the rich to give to the poor, following the English tradition of romanticising criminals. On one occasion we are informed that he enthralled the crowd while fleeing on horseback from the chief constable by leaping quite a height over a donkey and cart blocking his way. The assembled townspeople couldn’t believe their eyes and cried “Hark away Dick” as he sped into the distance, encouraging him to escape.