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issymaae's review against another edition
dark
informative
medium-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gore, and Mental illness
Minor: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, and Cursing
rebelbelle13's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
4.25
Every once in awhile, I'll be in the mood for a good non-fiction book- especially a true crime, or a mystery. If it takes place in Victorian England, that's even better. This checked all those boxes for me, and after seeing a copy for sale at a local second hand book store I became intrigued over Robert Coombs and his story.
Wicked Boy follows Robert's life primarily from the time he was 15, through the crime, the trial, his service in the first World War, and a bit of his life afterwards until his death in 1949. The crime in question is the murder of his mother in 1895. Summerscale did an amazing job of describing the events surrounding the crime, the state of the world at the time, who was involved and what their lives were like, and what became of all those who had a part in Robert's life. She not only described the murder, but painted a broad picture of life at the time, how the crime was received, the backlash, and other similar crimes of the period. She even went on to detail the asylum Broadmoor and its patients (where Robert was ultimately sent for his crime).
I found it fascinating that the media blamed Penny Dreadfuls (essentially short novels/comics of adventure, mystery and derring do aimed at teenage boys) for influencing Robert to kill his mother- not unlike the media of today blaming teen crime on violent video games. In one hundred years, people have not changed that much.
I was fascinated (like Summerscale) as to the 'why' of the crime. Robert seemed insane at the time of the murder, hearing voices, showing no remorse, and stealing from his mother after having killed her. The intriguing part of this narrative is the fact that he turned his life around after having spent more than a decade at the asylum, joined the war effort and became a decorated soldier, not to mention taking on a ward and raising him to adulthood.
Summerscale did a vast amount of research for this book, and it shows. I was constantly interested and invested, wondering what was going to happen next.
I really enjoyed Wicked Boy, and I would certainly read more from Summerscale in the future.
Wicked Boy follows Robert's life primarily from the time he was 15, through the crime, the trial, his service in the first World War, and a bit of his life afterwards until his death in 1949. The crime in question is the murder of his mother in 1895. Summerscale did an amazing job of describing the events surrounding the crime, the state of the world at the time, who was involved and what their lives were like, and what became of all those who had a part in Robert's life. She not only described the murder, but painted a broad picture of life at the time, how the crime was received, the backlash, and other similar crimes of the period. She even went on to detail the asylum Broadmoor and its patients (where Robert was ultimately sent for his crime).
I found it fascinating that the media blamed Penny Dreadfuls (essentially short novels/comics of adventure, mystery and derring do aimed at teenage boys) for influencing Robert to kill his mother- not unlike the media of today blaming teen crime on violent video games. In one hundred years, people have not changed that much.
I was fascinated (like Summerscale) as to the 'why' of the crime. Robert seemed insane at the time of the murder, hearing voices, showing no remorse, and stealing from his mother after having killed her. The intriguing part of this narrative is the fact that he turned his life around after having spent more than a decade at the asylum, joined the war effort and became a decorated soldier, not to mention taking on a ward and raising him to adulthood.
Summerscale did a vast amount of research for this book, and it shows. I was constantly interested and invested, wondering what was going to happen next.
I really enjoyed Wicked Boy, and I would certainly read more from Summerscale in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness
angelfireeast24's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
2.5
The principal story at the core of this book is interesting BUT the writer goes off topic at so many different points I lost the thread of what this book was about Especially when the arthor started to detail other inmates & lives of guards of Broadmoor. While the tales where interesting I started to wonder who the book was about and why these stories weren't in a separate about book about Broadmoor. Same goes for the wartime stories & more that went far beyond Robert & general context. This book could use a strong editor because there is a interesting tale of a life of a boy who grew into a interesting man. I learned more in the final chapter with greater emotion in a quick summation the arthor made then 10 chapters of time wasting. It's such a shame
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
boba_nbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
3.5
Though slow, I found this book to be quite interesting. I am a fan of true crime but don’t usually hear about crime in late 1800s London. It was intriguing to hear about how the time of the murder affected the outcome and to see the redemption arc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
jhbandcats's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
5.0
A tale of unexpected redemption and love, The Wicked Boy shows a life begun in distress in a poor and polluted industrial area, tempered in an asylum and in war, and mellowed in the peacefulness of farm work. The author keeps the matricide in the context of late Victorian England and its ideas of adolescence, family, class, crime, and insanity.
This is the second of Kate Summerscale's books I've read, the first - The Suspicions of Mr Whicher - is as well-researched as this. She shows a boy growing up with an emotional mother, a timid younger brother, and a mostly absent seaman father. In this atmosphere of oppression, where all he wants is to escape to have adventures like those in his favorite magazines, it's not altogether surprising that 13-year-old Robert Coombes chose to kill his mother to protect his brother and have a bit of freedom. (Well, yes, it is surprising, but it makes some sense in Summerscale's telling.)
I found the post-murder sections on Broadmoor, the asylum for the criminally insane, and WWl to be the most compelling. Broadmoor taught Robert how to live among others and to learn a trade, and the war taught him to be a man. After the war. he settled in a small Australian town and worked his plot of vegetables and milked his cows. He gave neighborhood children music lessons, played the cornet in veterans' parades, and offered protection to a teenage neighbor to save him from a violent stepfather. The murder itself was appalling but the subsequent fifty-plus years are the real story.
Highly recommended for people interested in true crime and Victorian London.
This is the second of Kate Summerscale's books I've read, the first - The Suspicions of Mr Whicher - is as well-researched as this. She shows a boy growing up with an emotional mother, a timid younger brother, and a mostly absent seaman father. In this atmosphere of oppression, where all he wants is to escape to have adventures like those in his favorite magazines, it's not altogether surprising that 13-year-old Robert Coombes chose to kill his mother to protect his brother and have a bit of freedom. (Well, yes, it is surprising, but it makes some sense in Summerscale's telling.)
I found the post-murder sections on Broadmoor, the asylum for the criminally insane, and WWl to be the most compelling. Broadmoor taught Robert how to live among others and to learn a trade, and the war taught him to be a man. After the war. he settled in a small Australian town and worked his plot of vegetables and milked his cows. He gave neighborhood children music lessons, played the cornet in veterans' parades, and offered protection to a teenage neighbor to save him from a violent stepfather. The murder itself was appalling but the subsequent fifty-plus years are the real story.
Highly recommended for people interested in true crime and Victorian London.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism