The invention of murder : how the Victorians revelled in death and detection and created modern crime /
Material type: TextPublisher: New York : Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2013Copyright date: 2011Edition: First U.S. editionDescription: xi, 556 pages : illustrations ; 25 cmContent type:- text
- unmediated
- volume
- 9781250024879
- 1250024870
- 9781250048530
- 1250048532
- 364.152/3094209034 23
- HV6535.G4 F43 2013
Item type | Current library | Home library | Collection | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Standard Loan | Liberty Lake Library Adult Nonfiction | Liberty Lake Library | Book | 364 FLA (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Checked out | 06/01/2024 | 31421000448341 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
"Superb... Flanders's convincing and smart synthesis of the evolution of an official police force, fictional detectives, and real-life cause célèbres will appeal to devotees of true crime and detective fiction alike." - Publishers Weekly , starred review
In this fascinating exploration of murder in nineteenth century England, Judith Flanders examines some of the most gripping cases that captivated the Victorians and gave rise to the first detective fiction
Murder in the nineteenth century was rare. But murder as sensation and entertainment became ubiquitous, with cold-blooded killings transformed into novels, broadsides, ballads, opera, and melodrama-even into puppet shows and performing dog-acts. Detective fiction and the new police force developed in parallel, each imitating the other-the founders of Scotland Yard gave rise to Dickens's Inspector Bucket, the first fictional police detective, who in turn influenced Sherlock Holmes and, ultimately, even P.D. James and Patricia Cornwell.
In this meticulously researched and engrossing book, Judith Flanders retells the gruesome stories of many different types of murder in Great Britain, both famous and obscure: from Greenacre, who transported his dismembered fiancée around town by omnibus, to Burke and Hare's bodysnatching business in Edinburgh; from the crimes (and myths) of Sweeney Todd and Jack the Ripper, to the tragedy of the murdered Marr family in London's East End. Through these stories of murder-from the brutal to the pathetic-Flanders builds a rich and multi-faceted portrait of Victorian society in Great Britain. With an irresistible cast of swindlers, forgers, and poisoners, the mad, the bad and the utterly dangerous, The Invention of Murder is both a mesmerizing tale of crime and punishment, and history at its most readable.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 517-535) and index.
Imagining murder -- Trial by newspaper -- Entertaining murder -- Policing murder -- Panic -- Middle-class poisoners -- Science, technology and the law -- Violence -- Modernity.
In this exploration of murder in the nineteenth century, Judith Flanders explores some of the most gripping cases that fascinated the Victorians and gave rise to the first detective fiction. She retells the gruesome stories of many different types of murder--both famous and obscure--from the crimes (and myths) of Sweeney Todd and Jack the Ripper to the tragedies of the murdered Marr family in London's East End; Burke and Hare and their bodysnatching business in Edinburgh; and Greenacre, who transported his dismembered fiancee around town by omnibus. With an irresistible cast of swindlers, forgers, and poisoners, the mad, the bad and the dangerous to know, "The Invention of Murder" is both a gripping tale of crime and punishment, and history at its most readable.
Table of contents provided by Syndetics
- A Note on Currency (p. xi)
- 1 Imagining Murder (p. 1)
- 2 Trial by Newspaper (p. 20)
- 3 Entertaining Murder (p. 99)
- 4 Policing Murder (p. 140)
- 5 Panic (p. 183)
- 6 Middle-Class Poisoners (p. 248)
- 7 Science, Technology and the Law (p. 320)
- 8 Violence (p. 357)
- 9 Modernity (p. 415)
- Acknowledgements (p. 467)
- Notes (p. 469)
- Sources (p. 517)
- Select Bibliography (p. 519)
- Index (p. 537)
Excerpt provided by Syndetics
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Library Journal Review
Brilliantly researched and rendered, this is an indispensable read for anyone-scholars and the general public alike-who harbors an interest in the evolution of the notion and representation of murder. UK social historian Flanders (The Victorian City: Everyday Life in Dickens' London) has written a remarkable cultural history that chronicles the way murder was regarded and written about during the Victorian era. Having sifted through innumerable broadsides, newspapers, journals, and fictional pieces of the time, Flanders posits that our modern understanding of-and our fascination with-murder has been shaped by Victorian cultural mores and representations in print media, drama, and literature. The chapter titles provide an outline of the historical development of our relationship with murder: "Imagining Murder," "Trial by Newspaper, "Entertaining Murder," "Policing Murder," "Panic," "Middle-Class Poisoners," Science, Technology and the Law, "Violence," and "Modernity." Flanders presents a fascinating narrative in well-crafted and at times suitably ironic prose. VERDICT Perfect for readers who enjoyed Kate Summerscale's The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective. An absorbing contribution to the history of crime.-Lynne Maxwell, Villanova Univ. Sch. of Law Lib., PA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.Publishers Weekly Review
Social historian Flanders (Inside the Victorian Home: A Portrait of Domestic Life in Victorian England) does a superb job of demonstrating the role that the press and fiction writers played in shaping the British public's attitudes toward crime during the 19th century. She captures perfectly the appeal of bloody fiction and macabre news stories: "Crime, especially murder, is very pleasant to think about in the abstract: it is like hearing blustery rain on the windowpane when sitting indoors." But it's unlikely that the British thought of murder much at all during the first decade of the 19th century-in 1810, there were a mere 15 murder convictions in England and Wales combined. The public's perception of random lethal violence changed with the horrific 1811 Ratcliffe Highway killings, brutal mass murders in London's East End that coincided with technological advances that enabled swifter and cheaper production of broadsheets describing the crimes. Flanders's convincing and smart synthesis of the evolution of an official police force, fictional detectives, and real-life cause celebres will appeal to devotees of true crime and detective fiction alike. B&w illus. throughout. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.Booklist Review
The Victorians, everyone knows, made the most out of mourning; the clothes they wore after a death, for example, signaled to the world at what stage they were in their grief from the deepest black of widow's weeds through shades of purple leading to a normal range of colors. This social history catalogs the Victorians' parallel obsession with sensational crimes real, fictional, and hybrids of both (as in broadsides that took great liberties with the truth, or novels with references to crimes of the day, like the practice of garroting as a street crime, which appears in Trollope's Phineas Finn). Historian Flanders gives a brisk review of crimes and criminals that fascinated the Victorians, including Jack the Ripper and the body snatchers William Burke and William Hare, along with many other criminals, crimes, and public practices, like sightseeing in just-discovered crime scenes (no police tape protected the scene). This compendium is a little too brisk, presenting many facts but very little analysis. Still, it will appeal to historical true-crime fans and Victorian-era enthusiasts.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2010 BooklistKirkus Book Review
Flanders (Consuming Passions: Leisure and Pleasure in Victorian Britain, 2006, etc.) attempts to trace the growth of murder and its detection in Victorian England. The author does not track the history of crime-solving during this period; most crimes were solved by the simple expedient of someone pointing a finger. The accused had very few rights, and those who couldn't afford to pay a lawyer were on their own. Flanders devotes most of her book to murders--one after another after another, many sensational, others notable for the innocence of the executed. Since the author does not present the murders chronologically, it's difficult to tell if the murder trials had any effect on the evolution of the rights of defendants. Instead, Flanders organizes the text according to who killed whom: husband/wife, servants/employers, etc. The author demonstrates the significance of the press in the investigations of the murders. From the beginning of the 19th century, broadsides and "penny dreadfuls" were circulated immediately after an event. Those and the newspapers of the time readily admitted that truth was irrelevant--profit was the goal. Their treatment of the accused depended largely on their social class. Theaters and authors profiled victims and events from the news of the day. Charles Dickens was the most prolific of these, using incidents and even quotes in many books, including Bleak House and Oliver Twist. Though Flanders ably follows the important role played by the media, readers seeking information about the establishment of the first police force or detective department, or laws passed to protect defendants, should look elsewhere. A grisly, grim slog through the history of Victorian murder, punctuated occasionally by intriguing historical lessons.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.Author notes provided by Syndetics
JUDITH FLANDERS is an international bestselling author and one of the foremost social historians of the Victorian era. Her first book, A Circle of Sisters , was published to great acclaim, and was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, and her second book, Inside the Victorian Home , was shortlisted for the British Book Awards History Book of the Year. Judith is a frequent contributor to the Sunday Telegraph , Guardian , Spectator , the Times Literary Supplement , and the Wall Street Journal . She lives in London.There are no comments on this title.