Honest Theives: The Violent Heyday of English Smuggling

First edition. [2], 226pp, four monochrome plate illustrations and occasional further drawings in text. Maps on endpapers. In brick red cloth-covered boards with gilt titles on spine. 8vo. Just a little spotting on text block edges, previous owner’s inscription on half-title else neat, clean, bright and tight throughout. In its original dust jacket, a little rubbed at spine ends. Dust jacket now protected in a Mylar-style sleeve – the sleeve is a little shelf worn and cracked at spine ends. Illustrated with maps and contemporary pictures and packed with detail, this book follows the early course of smuggling in England – its open war period – through its heyday and decline. Special attention is given to the Hawkhurst Gang, operating on the borders of Kent and Sussex, and the horrifying consequences of their raid on Poole Custom House.