Out of this apocalyptic landscape emerges a young Scotsman Daniel Mc Naughten. He has been on a journey a descent into his own despair mirroring the tribulations of society at large. His journey will end in London with the death of an apparently innocent man. One freezing day in January he takes a shot at the Prime Ministers Private Secretary Edward Drummond as he makes his way to Downing Street. The incident rocks the nation. Has the assassin perhaps mistaken Mr. Drummond for the Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel? & who is this Mc Naughten? A dangerous political radical
- possibly the agent of an entire network of revolutionaries
- or a religious fanatic? Is he a lunatic or merely a victim of the collective madness that surrounds him? Sian Busbys debut novel is a breathtaking feat of historical scholarship which takes you to the heart of the Victorian soul. As Daniel Mc Naughten goes on trial the dark forces lying beneath the surface of society threaten to break loose & overturn the very order of things. Suddenly the nations sanity seems to be hanging on the destiny of one hapless individual. The verdict against him will change English law forever. The winter of 1843 is one of bitter strife for Engl&. The nation is on the brink of ruin & revolution the government struggling to stand firm against the rising chaos.