GRUSOME deaths were common in Tudor times, but one popular history author has revealed all about the grisly punishments across the country including Corsham and Bath.

The Tudor Murder Files by 43-year-old James Moore of Cheltenham, collates the most shocking killings and puzzling murder mysteries from the 16th century in fascinating detail and reveals how a 1594 Corsham murder case and feud became the inspiration for Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

The journalist and author said: "I spent a lot of time in the British Library and there are a lot of pamphlets, court records and coroner records and in those days they would help investigate the crime. I thought what was quite interesting about the era, is that you start to see the use of pamphlets like newsletters which would have all the details about the crimes and court cases which would be read in the local ale house by someone who could actually read. It is quite interesting for me to look at those and I was quite surprised by how accurate they were!"

Life under the Tudors was risky, with your chances of being murdered around five times higher than today and Mr Moore thought he would reveal more about daily life under the famous royal lineage.

"I felt everyone knew about Henry VIII but did not know how brutal daily life could be," Mr Moore said. "One of the most interesting parts for me was the punishments and when I began looking at pamphlets, some of them were truly gruesome."

People who used poison would be boiled alive, women who murdered their husbands would be burnt at the stake and those who did not enter a plea in court would be pressed alive.

The Tudor Murder Files, which contains details about more than 70 real-life murders between 1485 and 1603 can be purchased today for £14.99.

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