'Reading this account of a real-life crime in 1845 is an experience close to time travel. Through impressive research and unshowy prose, Baxter whisks us back to the start of the modern age - Totally irresistible.'- Independent 'As lively and readable as a crime novel. Normally, that would be good enough; but this is a book of two halves - its unique selling point is the invention of the telegraph' - The Times 'A fascinating history, mystery and portrait of a complex contradictory man.' - Daily Mail

Carol Baxter is the prize-winning author of three popular histories with a criminal bent - An Irresistible Temptation, Breaking the Bank and Captain Thunderbolt and His Lady - all of which have been published to critical acclaim in her native Australia. Previously, she was General Editor of the Biographical Database of Australia and, before that, Project Officer of the Australian Biographical and Genealogical Record, in which roles she edited many records relating to convicts transported to Australia to serve out their sentences. These helped her to discover the subjects for her tales of true crime. She is a Fellow of the Society of Australian Genealogists and an adjunct lecturer at the University of New England (NSW). A full-time writer and speaker, she lives in Sydney.