Dick Turpin

Published in 2010 by Profile Books, this biography examines the life and enduring myth of the infamous eighteenth-century English highwayman, Richard Turpin. James Sharpe, a distinguished historian of crime and popular culture, wrote the work to strip away the romanticized Victorian inventions surrounding Turpin’s exploits, focusing instead on the gritty reality of his career as a cattle thief and burglar rather than the gallant gentleman outlaw depicted in later fiction.

The book serves as a scholarly analysis of how the historical Turpin was transformed into a folk hero through pamphlets, plays, and novels, most notably William Harrison Ainsworth’s Rookwood. Sharpe employs archival research to trace the transition from brutal criminal to legendary figure, illustrating how society’s need for an anti-hero allowed Turpin to capture the public imagination long after his execution at York in 1739.