Analysis Of Rack, Rope, And Red-Hot Pincers By Geoffrey Abbott

The following essay concerns the book Rack, Rope, and Red-Hot Pincers, by Geoffrey Abbott. Included in the essay, is a brief synopsis of the book, followed by a detailed analysis. Rack, Rope, and Red-Hot Pincers gives a brief history of torture, beginning in the early Middle Ages. The subject of torture is quite fascinating– a meticulously intricate art, yet reaping gruesome and blood-curdling results. Thus, Rack, Rope, and Red-Hot Pincers, seemed like the perfect choice for this book report. Geoffrey Abbott, a retired Yeoman Warder of the Tower of London, conveys his own intrigue in the art of torture in Rack, Rope, and Red-Hot Pincers, telling of the horrific consequences faced by criminals in medieval, and even modern, times.

Beyond that, he explains the wide scope of torture, in which anything could be used – time, pain, imagination, deprivation, starvation, humiliation, etc. – to reap the desired results. Abbott speaks of torture almost commendingly, especially when he describes the ways in which torturers would exploit every facet of human nature to break their victims. This is demonstrated perfectly in the following quote:

“It says much for man’s inventive spirit that he is not restricted to the more stereotypes methods of persuasion and punishment, but can let his fertile imagination conjure up more ingenious deices, all based on the same premise, that of causing pain or death. With men like these around, torture and execution may be abhorrent and detestable, but never boring or routine” (Abbot 179).

However, the undeniable underlying theme of the book is the utter horror of torture: being boiled alive in scalding hot water, being forced down unto the gridiron to be grilled by the fires beneath, or being caught in the embrace of the Virgin Mary herself, with spikes to pierce the skin throughout the

Abbott’s writing style is relaxed and informative, and pulls the reader in within the first few sentences. Yet, throughout the book, Abbott’s dark sense of humor comes in here and there, as in his introduction of two of the most fiendish devices in the history of torture.

“Allow me to present two very forceful ladies, one the daughter of John Holland, Duke of Exeter, Earl of Huntingdon, and the other the daughter of Sir Leonard Skeffington, Kt. So captivating were they, that once they had you in their grasp, you would not be able to tear yourself away from them. And they are certainly not the sort of girls who would take ‘no’ for an answer. Actually they were not the type of females you would wish to meet on a dark night or even on a sunny afternoon. To be more precise, the two ladies in question are more shudderingly known as ‘The Rack’ and ‘Skeffington’s Gyves’” (39).

The style of Abbott’s writing is in perfect concordance with the content of the book – grim humor for a grim topic. Illustrations given halfway through the book were quite helpful in understanding the material – the mechanics of the finger pillory were a bit difficult to understand, but the drawing helped to clarify things a bit. No biased feelings are apparent in the book – Abbott’s main goal appears to be informing the audience, not pushing his own agendas. Abbott speaks of torture with a mixture of respect and horror, but