Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Murder by the Book: The Crime That Shocked Dickens's London by Claire Harman

2 reviews

heather_freshparchment's review

dark informative mysterious reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts

jhbandcats's review against another edition

challenging dark informative mysterious medium-paced

3.75

An analysis of a murder in Victorian London that shocked the city. At the time adventurous stories of thieves and murderers were wildly popular. Without a copyright law, enterprising writers would take a novel’s plot and turn it into unauthorized theater plays within a day or two. Everyone in the city was reading or seeing the story of “Jack Sheppard” and then, as now, crimes were being blamed on the influence of nefarious tales. (Today, video games, rap lyrics, and violent movies are supposedly to blame.)

When the valet finally confessed to the murder of Lord William Russell, he said he got the idea from “Jack Sheppard.” Author Claire Harman details London society, its newly literate working class, the rise of the disreputable novels and plays, and the murder of Lord Russell and subsequent trial. 

The epilogue raises a lot of questions about police procedure, the validity of the valet’s confession, and possible motives. All in all a well-written book but somewhat slow. In addition, there’s a rather overwhelming list of Persons of Interest that is clogged with people barely mentioned or who aren’t relevant to the main topic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Police brutality, Murder, Blood, and Classism