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An Illustrated History of Ireland from AD 400 to 1800 by Mary Frances Cusack

M >> Mary Frances Cusack >> An Illustrated History of Ireland from AD 400 to 1800

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The first member of the Earl's family who had settled in England, was
Richard, son of the Norman Earl Brien, a direct descendant of Robert
"the Devil," Duke of Normandy, father of William the Conqueror. In
return for services at the battle of Hastings, and general assistance in
conquering the Saxon, this family obtained a large grant of land in
England, and took the title of Earl of Clare from one of their
ninety-five lordships in Suffolk.[280] The Strongbow family appears to
have inherited a passion for making raids on neighbouring lands, from
their Viking ancestors. Strongbow's father had obtained his title of
Earl of Pembroke, and his property in the present county of that name,
from his successful marauding expedition in Wales, in 1138. But as he
revolted against Stephen, his lands were seized by that king; and after
his death, in 1148, his son succeeded to his very numerous titles,
without any property commensurate thereto. Richard was not in favour
with his royal master, who probably was jealous of the Earl, despite his
poverty; but as Strongbow did not wish to lose the little he had in
England, or the chance of obtaining more in Ireland, he proceeded at
once to the court, then held in Normandy, and asked permission for his
new enterprise. Henry's reply was so carefully worded, he could declare
afterwards that he either had or had not given the permission, whichever
version of the interview might eventually prove most convenient to the
royal interests. Strongbow took the interpretation which suited his own
views, and proceeded to the scene of action with as little delay as
possible. He arrived in Ireland, according to the most generally
received account, on the vigil of St. Bartholomew, A.D. 1170, and landed
at Dundonnell, near Waterford. His uncle, Hervey de Montmarisco, had
already arrived, and established himself in a temporary fort, where he
had been attacked by the brave citizens of Wexford. But the besieged
maintained their position, killed five hundred men, and made prisoners
of seventy of the principal citizens of Waterford. Large sums of money
were offered for their ransom, but in vain. They were brutally murdered
by the English soldiers, who first broke their limbs, and then hurled
them from a precipice into the sea. It was the first instalment of the
utterly futile theory, so often put in practice since that day, of
"striking terror into the Irish;" and the experiment was quite as
unsuccessful as all such experiments have ever been.[281]

While these cruelties were enacting, Strongbow had been collecting
forces in South Wales; but, as he was on the very eve of departure, he
received a peremptory order from Henry, forbidding him to leave the
kingdom. After a brief hesitation, he determined to bid defiance to the
royal mandate, and set sail for Ireland. The day after his arrival he
laid siege to Waterford. The citizens behaved like heroes, and twice
repulsed their assailants; but their bravery could not save them in the
face of overpowering numbers. A breach was made in the wall; the
besiegers poured in; and a merciless massacre followed. Dermod arrived
while the conflict was at its height, and for once he has the credit of
interfering on the side of mercy. Reginald, a Danish lord, and O'Phelan,
Prince of the Deisi, were about to be slain by their captors, but at his
request they were spared, and the general carnage was suspended. For the
sake of common humanity, one could wish to think that this was an act of
mercy. But Mac Murrough had his daughter Eva with him; he wished to have
her nuptials with Strongbow celebrated at once; and he could scarcely
accomplish his purpose while men were slaying their fellows in a
cold-blooded massacre. The following day the nuptials were performed.
The English Earl, a widower, and long past the prime of manhood, was
wedded to the fair young Celtic maiden; and the marriage procession
passed lightly over the bleeding bodies of the dying and the dead. Thus
commenced the union between Great Britain and Ireland: must those
nuptials be for ever celebrated in tears and blood?

Immediately after the ceremony, the army set out for Dublin. Roderic had
collected a large force near Clondalkin, and Hosculf, the Danish
governor of the city, encouraged by their presence, had again revolted
against Dermod. The English army having learned that the woods and
defiles between Wexford and Dublin were well guarded, had made forced
marches along the mountains, and succeeded in reaching the capital long
before they were expected. Their decision and military skill alarmed the
inhabitants--they might also have heard reports of the massacres at
Wexford; be this as it may, they determined to negotiate for peace, and
commissioned their illustrious Archbishop, St. Laurence O'Toole, to make
terms with Dermod. While the discussion was pending, two of the English
leaders, Raymond _le Gros_ and Miles de Cogan, obtained an entrance into
the city, and commenced a merciless butchery of the inhabitants. When
the saint returned he heard cries of misery and groans of agony in all
quarters, and it was not without difficulty that he succeeded in
appeasing the fury of the soldiers, and the rage of the people, who had
been so basely treated.

[Illustration: Marriage of Eva and Strongbow.]

The Four Masters accuse the people of Dublin of having attempted to
purchase their own safety at the expense of the national interests, and
say that "a miracle was wrought against them" as a judgment for their
selfishness. Hosculf, the Danish governor, fled to the Orkneys, with
some of the principal citizens, and Roderic withdrew his forces to
Meath, to support O'Rourke, on whom he had bestowed a portion of that
territory. Miles de Cogan was invested with the government of Dublin,
and Dermod marched to Meath, to attack Roderic and O'Rourke, against
whom he had an old grudge of the worst and bitterest kind. He had
injured him by carrying off his wife, Dervorgil, and men generally hate
most bitterly those whom they have injured most cruelly.

Meanwhile MacCarthy of Desmond had attacked and defeated the English
garrison at Waterford, but without any advantageous results. Roderic's
weakness now led him to perpetrate an act of cruelty, although it could
scarcely be called unjust according to the ideas of the times. It will
be remembered that he had received hostages from Dermod for the treaty
of Ferns. That treaty had been openly violated, and the King sent
ambassadors to him to demand its fulfilment, by the withdrawal of the
English troops, threatening, in case of refusal, to put the hostages to
death. Dermod laughed at the threat. Under any circumstances, he was not
a man who would hesitate to sacrifice his own flesh and blood to his
ambition. Roderic was as good as his word; and the three royal hostages
were put to death at Athlone.

An important synod was held at the close of this year (A.D. 1170), at
Armagh. We have already mentioned one of its principal enactments, which
deplored and condemned the practice of buying English slaves from the
Bristol merchants. Other subjects shall be more fully entertained when
we come to the Synod of Cashel, which was held two years later.

In 1171 Dermod MacMurrough, the author of so many miseries, and the
object of so much just reprobation, died at Ferns, on the 4th of May.
His miserable end was naturally considered a judgment for his evil life.
His obituary is thus recorded: "Diarmaid Mac Murchadha, King of
Leinster, by whom a trembling soil was made of all Ireland, after having
brought over the Saxons, after having done extensive injuries to the
Irish, after plundering and burning many churches, as Ceanannus,
Cluain-Iraired, &c., died before the end of a year [after this
plundering], of an insufferable and unknown disease; for he became
putrid while living, through the miracle of God, Colum-cille, and
Finnen, and the other saints of Ireland, whose churches he had profaned
and burned some time before; and he died at Fearnamor, without [making]
a will, without penance, without the body of Christ, without unction, as
his evil deeds deserved."[282]

But the death of the traitor could not undo the traitor's work. Men's
evil deeds live after them, however they may repent them on their
deathbeds. Strongbow had himself at once proclaimed King of
Leinster--his marriage with Eva was the ground of his claim; but though
such a mode of succession might hold good in Normandy, it was perfectly
illegal in Ireland. The question, however, was not one of right but of
might, and it was settled as all such questions invariably are. But
Strongbow had a master at the other side of the Channel, who had his own
views of these complications. His tenure, however, was somewhat
precarious. His barons, always turbulent, had now a new ground for
aggression, in the weakness to which he had exposed himself by his
virtual sanction of the murder of St. Thomas of Canterbury, and he was
fain to content himself with a strong injunction commanding all his
English subjects then in Ireland to return immediately, and forbidding
any further reinforcements to be sent to that country. Strongbow was
alarmed, and at once despatched Raymond _le Gros_ with apologies and
explanations, offering the King all the lands he had acquired in
Ireland. Henry does not appear to have taken the slightest notice of
these communications, and the Earl determined to risk his displeasure,
and remain in Ireland.

His prospects, however, were by no means promising. His Irish adherents
forsook him on the death of Dermod; Dublin was besieged by a
Scandinavian force, which Hosculf had collected in the Orkneys, and
which was conveyed in sixty vessels, under the command of Johan _le
Deve_ (the Furious). Miles de Cogan repulsed this formidable attack
successfully, and captured the leaders. Hosculf was put to death; but he
appears to have brought his fate on himself by a proud and incautious
boast.

At this period the thoughtful and disinterested Archbishop of Dublin saw
a crisis in the history of his country on which much depended. He
endeavoured to unite the national chieftains, and rally the national
army. His words appear to have had some effect. Messengers were sent to
ask assistance from Godfred, King of the Isle of Man, and other island
warriors. Strongbow became aware of his danger, and threw himself into
Dublin; but he soon found himself landlocked by an army, and enclosed at
sea by a fleet. Roderic O'Connor commanded the national forces,
supported by Tiernan O'Rourke and Murrough O'Carroll. St. Laurence
O'Toole remained in the camp, and strove to animate the men by his
exhortations and example. The Irish army contented themselves with a
blockade, and the besieged were soon reduced to extremities from want of
food. Strongbow offered terms of capitulation through the Archbishop,
proposing to hold the kingdom of Leinster as Roderic's vassal; but the
Irish monarch demanded the surrender of the towns of Dublin, Wexford,
and Waterford, and required the English invaders to leave the country by
a certain day.

While these negotiations were pending, Donnell Cavanagh, son of the late
King of Leinster, got into the city in disguise, and informed Strongbow
that FitzStephen was closely besieged in Wexford. It was then at once
determined to force a passage through the Irish army. Raymond _le Gros_
led the van, Miles de Cogan followed; Strongbow and Maurice FitzGerald,
who had proposed the sortie, with the remainder of their force, brought
up the rere. The Irish army was totally unprepared for this sudden move;
they fled in panic, and Roderic, who was bathing in the Liffey, escaped
with difficulty.[283]

Strongbow again committed the government of Dublin to Miles de Cogan,
and set out for Wexford. On his way thither he was opposed by O'Regan,
Prince of Idrone. An action ensued, which might have terminated fatally
for the army, had not the Irish prince received his death-wound from an
English archer. His troops took to flight, and Strongbow proceeded on
his journey. But he arrived too late. Messengers met him on the way, to
inform him that the fort of Carrig had fallen into the hands of the
Irish, who are said to have practised an unjustifiable stratagem to
obtain possession of the place. As usual, there are two versions of the
story. One of these versions, which appears not improbable, is that the
besieged had heard a false report of the affair in Dublin; and believing
Strongbow and the English army to have been overthrown, they surrendered
on the promise of being sent in safety to Dublin. On their surrender,
the conditions were violated, FitzStephen was imprisoned, and some of
his followers killed. The charge against the besiegers is that they
invented the report as a stratagem to obtain their ends, and that the
falsehood was confirmed in a solemn manner by the bishops of Wexford and
Kildare.

As soon as the Wexford men had heard of Strongbow's approach, they set
fire to the town, and fled to Beg-Erin, a stockaded island, at the same
time sending him a message, that, if he attempted to approach, they
would kill all their prisoners. The Earl withdrew to Waterford in
consequence of this threat, and here he learned that his presence was
indispensable in England; he therefore set off at once to plead his own
cause with his royal master. A third attack had been made on Dublin, in
the meantime, by the Lord of Breffni, but it was repulsed by Miles. With
this exception, the Irish made no attempt against the common enemy, and
domestic wars were as frequent as usual.

Henry had returned to England, and was now in Newenham, in
Gloucestershire, making active preparations for his visit to Ireland.
The odium into which he had fallen, after his complicity in the murder
of St. Thomas of Canterbury, had rendered his position perilous in the
extreme; and probably his Irish expedition would never have been
undertaken, had he not required some such object to turn his thoughts
and the thoughts of his subjects from the consequences of his
crime.[284] He received Strongbow coldly, and at first refused him an
interview. After a proper delay, he graciously accepted the Earl's offer
of "all the lands he had won in Ireland"--a very questionable gift,
considering that there was not an inch of ground there which he could
securely call his own. Henry, however, was pleased to restore his
English estates; but, with consummate hypocrisy and villany, he seized
the castles of the Welsh lords, whom he hated for their vigorous and
patriotic opposition, and punished them for allowing the expedition,
which he had just sanctioned, to sail from their coasts unmolested.

[Illustration: THE LOGAN STONE, KILLARNEY.]

[Illustration: ANCIENT IRISH BROOCH.[285]]

FOOTNOTES:

[273] _Merchants_.--Wright says that "theft and unfair dealing" were
fearfully prevalent among the Anglo-Normans, and mentions, as an
example, how some Irish merchants were robbed who came to Ely to sell
their wares.--_Domestic Manners_, p. 78. It would appear that there was
considerable slave-trade carried on with the British merchants. The
Saxons, who treated their dependents with savage cruelty (see Wright, p.
56), sold even their children as slaves to the Irish. In 1102 this
inhuman traffic was forbidden by the Council of London. Giraldus
Cambrensis mentions that, at a synod held at Armagh, A.D. 1170, the
Irish clergy, who had often forbidden this trade, pronounced the
invasion of Ireland by Englishmen to be a just judgment on the Irish for
their share in the sin, and commanded that all who had English slaves
should at once set them free. Mr. Haverty remarks, that it was a curious
and characteristic coincidence, that an Irish deliberative assembly
should thus, by an act of humanity to Englishmen, have met the merciless
aggressions which the latter had just then commenced against this
country.--_Hist. of Ireland_, p. 169.

[274] _Nesta_.--David Powell, in his notes to the _Itinerary of
Cambria_, states that this lady was a daughter of Rufus, Prince of
Demetia. She was distinguished for her beauty, and infamous for her
gallantries. She had a daughter by Gerald of Windsor, called Augweth,
who was mother to Giraldus Cambrensis. This relationship accounts for
the absurd eulogiums which he has lavished on the Geraldines. Demetia is
the district now called Pembrokeshire, where a colony of Normans
established themselves after the Norman Conquest.--See Thierry's _Norman
Conquest_.

[275] _Men-at-arms_.--_Hibernia Expugnata_, lib. i. c. 16.

[276] _Bargy_.--Our illustration gives a view of the remains of this
ancient castle. It was formerly the residence of Bagenal Harvey, a
Protestant gentleman, who suffered in the rebellion of 1798, for his
adherence to the cause of Ireland.

[277] _Flemings_.--Dr. O'Donovan mentions, in a note to the Four
Masters, that he was particularly struck with the difference between the
personal appearance of the inhabitants of the baronies where they
settled. The Cavanaghs and Murphys are tall and slight; the Flemings and
Codds short and stout. They still retain some peculiarities of language.

[278] _Rule_.--What the rule of this ferocious monster may have been we
can judge from what is related of him by Cambrensis. Three hundred heads
of the slain were piled up before him; and as he leaped and danced with
joy at the ghastly sight, he recognized a man to whom he had a more than
ordinary hatred. He seized the head by the ears, and gratified his
demoniacal rage by biting off the nose and lips of his dead enemy.

[279] _Easterly_.--Cambrensis takes to himself the credit of having
advised the despatch of a letter to Strongbow. He also gives us the
letter, which probably was his own composition, as it is written in the
same strain of bombast as his praises of his family.--_Hib. Expug_. lib.
i. c. 12. It commences thus: "We have watched the storks and swallows;
the summer birds are come and gone," &c. We imagine that Dermod's style,
if he had taken to epistolary correspondence, would have been rather a
contrast.

[280] _Suffolk_.--See Gilbert's _Viceroys of Dublin, passim_. We
recommend this work to our readers. It should be in the hands of every
Irishman at least. It combines the attraction of romance with the
accuracy of carefully written history.

[281] _Been_.--If we are to believe Cambrensis, Raymond argued against
this cruelty, and Henry in favour of it.

[282] _Deserved_.--The Annals of Clonmacnois give a similar account;
but in a paper MS. in Trinity College, Dublin, it is said that he died
"after the victory of penance and unction." The old account is probably
the more reliable, as it is the more consonant with his previous career.

[283] _Difficulty_.--The army was so well supplied, that the English got
sufficient corn, meal, and pork to victual the city of Dublin for a
whole year.--Harris' _Hibernae_, p. 25.

[284] _Crime_.--So fearful was the unfortunate monarch of a public
excommunication and interdict, that he sent courtiers at once to Rome to
announce his submission. When he heard of the murder he shut himself up
for three days, and refused all food, except "milk of almonds." See
_Vita Quadrip_. p. 143. It would appear this was a favourite beverage,
from the amount of almonds which were brought to Ireland for his special
benefit. See p. 272.




CHAPTER XVII.

Arrival of Henry II.--Some of the Native Princes pay him Homage--His
Character--Dublin in the time of Henry II.--His Winter Palace--Norman
Luxuries--King Henry holds a Court--Adrian's Bull--Temporal Power of the
Popes in the Middle Ages--Conduct of the Clergy--Irish Property given to
English Settlers--Henry II. returns to England--The Account Cambrensis
gives of the Injuries done to Ireland by his Countrymen--Raymond,
Montmarisco, and Strongbow--The latter is defeated--He recalls Raymond
from Wales--Treaty between Roderic and Henry--Death of Strongbow.

[A.D. 1171-1176.]


[Illustration: H]

Henry landed in Ireland on the 18th of October, 1171, at Crook, in the
county of Waterford. He was accompanied by Strongbow, William
FitzAldelm, Humphrey de Bohun, Hugh de Lacy, Robert FitzBarnard, and
many other lords. His whole force, which, according to the most
authentic English accounts, was distributed in four hundred ships,
consisted of 500 knights and 4,000 men-at-arms. It would appear the
Irish had not the least idea that he intended to claim the kingdom as
his own, and rather looked upon him as a powerful potentate who had come
to assist the native administration of justice. Even had they suspected
his real object, no opposition might have been made to it. The nation
had suffered much from domestic dissension; it had yet to learn that
foreign oppression was an incomparable greater evil.

If a righteous king or a wise statesman had taken the affair in hand,
Ireland might have been made an integral and most valuable portion of
the British Empire without a struggle. The nation would have bowed
gratefully to an impartial government; they have not yet ceased to
resent a partial and frequently unjust rule. From the very commencement,
the aggrandizement of the individual, and not the advantage of the
people, has been the rule of action. Such government is equally
disgraceful to the rulers, and cruel to the governed.

MacCarthy of Desmond was the first Irish prince who paid homage to the
English King. At Cashel, Donnell O'Brien, King of Thomond, swore fealty,
and surrendered the city of Limerick. Other princes followed their
example. The "pomp and circumstance" of the royal court, attracted the
admiration of a people naturally deferential to authority; the
condescension and apparent disinterestedness of the monarch, won the
hearts of an impulsive and affectionate race. They had been accustomed
to an Ard-Righ, a chief monarch, who, in name at least, ruled all the
lesser potentates: why should not Henry be such to them? and why should
they suppose that he would exercise a tyranny as yet unknown in the
island?

The northern princes still held aloof; but Roderic had received Henry's
ambassadors personally, and paid the usual deference which one king owed
to another who was considered more powerful. Henry determined to spend
his Christmas in Dublin, and resolved on a special display of royal
state. It is to be presumed that he wished to make up for deficiency in
stateliness of person by stateliness of presence; for, like most of the
descendants of Duke Robert "the Devil" and the daughter of the Falaise
tanner, his appearance was not calculated to inspire respect. His grey
bloodshot eyes and tremulous voice, were neither knightly nor kingly
qualifications; his savage and ungovernable temper, made him appear at
times rather like a demon than a man. He was charged with having
violated the most solemn oaths when it suited his convenience. A
cardinal had pronounced him an audacious liar. Count Thiebault of
Champagne had warned an archbishop not to rely on any of his promises,
however sacredly made. He and his sons spent their time quarrelling with
each other, when not occupied in quarrelling with their subjects. His
eldest son, Richard, thus graphically sketched the family
characteristics:--"The custom in our family is that the son shall hate
the father; our destiny is to detest each other; from the devil we came,
to the devil we shall go." And the head of this family had now come to
reform the Irish, and to improve their condition--social, secular, and
ecclesiastical!

A special residence was erected for the court on part of the ground now
occupied by the southern side of Dame-street. The whole extent of Dublin
at that time was, in length, from Corn Market to the Lower Castle Yard;
and in breadth, from the Liffey, then covering Essex-street, to Little
Sheep-street, now Ship-street, where a part of the town wall is yet
standing.[286] The only edifices in existence on the southern side of
Dame-street, even at the commencement of the seventeenth century, were
the Church of St. Andrew and the King's Mills.[287] College-green was
then quite in the country, and was known as the village of _Le Hogges_,
a name that is apparently derived from the Teutonic word _Hoge_, which
signifies a small hill or sepulchral mound. Here there was a nunnery
called St. Mary le Hogges, which had been erected or endowed not many
years before Henry's arrival, and a place called Hoggen's Butt, where
the citizens exercised themselves in archery. Here, during the winter of
1171, the Celt, the Saxon, and the Norman, may have engaged in peaceful
contests and pleasant trials of skill.

Henry's "winter palace" was extemporized with some artistic taste. It
was formed of polished osiers. Preparations had been made on an
extensive scale for the luxuries of the table--a matter in which the
Normans had greatly the advantage of either Celt or Saxon. The use of
crane's flesh was introduced into Ireland for the first time, as well as
that of herons, peacocks,[288] swans, and wild geese. Almonds had been
supplied already by royal order in great abundance; wine was purchased
in Waterford, even now famous for its trade with Spain in that
commodity. Nor had the King's physician forgotten the King's health; for
we find a special entry amongst the royal disbursements of the sum of
L10 7s., paid to Josephus Medicus for spices and electuaries. Yet
Henri-curt-mantel[289] was careful of his physical well-being, and
partook but sparingly of these luxuries. Fearing his tendency to
corpulency, he threw the short cloak of his native Anjou round him at an
earlier hour in the morning than suited the tastes of his courtiers, and
took exercise either on horseback or on foot, keeping in constant motion
all day.

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Murder One closing so did we commit this crime?
Articles published by guardian.co.uk Books

Poetry Workshop creature features

For many years my local corner shop displayed a large sign in its window telling local residents to "use us or lose us!" It always looked a rather toothless threat to me. After all, if I didn't use them, what difference would it make to me if they weren't there? And surely a corner shop, one that had been there for years, would have enough customers to survive without recourse to such apocalyptic warning? But it didn't and was soon converted into flats.

This community shop was destroyed not so much by the pressures of the supermarkets or people's commuting patterns, but simply by customer apathy. It's something to think about as crime writers and readers across the world mourn the imminent passing of Maxim Jakubowski's celebrated Charing Cross Road bookshop in London, Murder One.

Apathy is a strange word to connect to a bookstore that thrives on passion. It's noticeable when you walk through the door, when you speak to the friendly, knowledgeable staff, when you look at the shelves and see the vast range of titles on offer. This isn't your regular kind of bookstore: the first time I visited spent a whole lunch break looking up and down, from floor to ceiling from table to table; it was an hour that changed my perception of both crime writing and of bookselling.

Murder One was – and for a few weeks will remain – a shop that took crime seriously. Not in the sense that it intellectualised it, or made unsubstantiated claims for its importance, but in the way that it treated crime writing with the respect it was due. With a genre that has so many off-shoots, branches and sub-genres, it took a shop of Murder One's calibre to show just how diverse, interesting and mentally stimulating crime could be – far more than the guilty pleasure I had, until then, considered it.

Thanks to judicious recommendations, enticing table displays and hours of foraging among the stacks, I discovered writers that I would never have picked up, let alone read. You could always get the latest blockbuster, but delve a little deeper and you'd find books that were not stocked anywhere else, novels that, like the perfect crime, were hidden from public view. The Martin Beck novels by Sjöwall & Wahlöö – probably my favourite sequence of novels in any genre – were introduced to me via Murder One, as were Kem Nunn, Sue Grafton, and Henning Mankell. It's also the staff of Murder One who piqued my interest in the inimitable Fred Vargas, and I can't thank them enough for the introduction.

Inclusive and without snobbery, Murder One amply demonstrated that the best bookshops are places not just of commerce, but of community; places that make feel you belong. It's the kind of store that bibliophiles dream about: well-stocked, well-staffed and shabby enough to lose days browsing within. It's just unfortunate that such shops don't have enough paying customers to keep them afloat, or that these customers visit all too infrequently – something of which I'm certainly guilty.

These kinds of shops are facing a long, bloody battle – and one which, without significant reinforcements, they are likely to lose. As we hear of the travesty of another brilliant independent going down, we'll mourn the loss, wring our hands and damn Amazon and the supermarkets and Waterstone's. Yet perhaps the most important detail we'll probably keep under wraps: the last time we actually spent any money there.

Murder One closing its doors for the final time is undoubtedly a .38 shell for independent bookshops, but whether it's body blow or a warning shot all depends upon us, the consumers. No one, no matter how iconic or established, can exist on fond memories alone: just ask Woolworths. Use these shops now, because it doesn't take a master sleuth to deduce what will happen if we don't.

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