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A review by jillcaesar
Murder by the Book: The Crime That Shocked Dickens's London by Claire Harman
3.0
Blaming popular media for an increase in crime is an age-old impulse. Nowadays video games take most of the brunt, but for a long time it was books, along with plays, at whose feet society laid blame for heinous acts. That perennial tendency is at the heart of Murder by the Book: The Crime That Shocked Charles Dickens’ London, which explores two intertwined narratives unfolding in early Victorian Britain: the rise of “Newgate” literature, which romanticized and championed the historical criminal, and the gruesome murder of a nobleman by the very last person that society, at the time, would expect.
Lord William Russell was about as inoffensive to Victorian society as any nobleman could be. He was widowed, lived alone with few servants, and spent a great amount of his time walking around his neighbourhood and reading memoirs. There was no one, as far as anyone knew, who would have found reason to be offended by him. So when he is found slain in his bed, his throat slit to the bone, genteel society is thrown into an uproar. There is no sign of a break-in, or of any struggle. So who could have been able to do this to him? Could it be – God forbid – one of his servants? And if so, what could have possessed them to commit such a heinous act?
The book goes into great detail about the murder and subsequent trial, as well as early Victorian society surrounding it at the time – the writers, such as Charles Dickens and Thackeray, who reacted to, and helped heighten, the trend in literature and drama for romantic villains and heroic criminals. Among them was the now obscure writer William Harrison Ainsworth, whose smash hit novel Jack Sheppard supposedly helped inspire Lord William’s slayer to commit his ghastly deed.
The book is a slim one, only a hair over 200 pages (sans index). Harman has clearly done her research, rendering the minutiae of the murder, investigation, and subsequent trial in detail. The same goes for her chronicle of early Victorian literary trends, including the early years and rise of Charles Dickens. However, I found the book’s weakest point to be its ‘readability’, so to speak – the book is so bogged down with facts and details about everything that it sometimes became hard to hold my attention, especially during the earlier parts of the book regarding the police investigation. However, I am not generally a true crime fan, so what may seem tedious to me may be a true crime lover’s bread and butter. I definitely did enjoy the detailed sections regarding the early Victorian writers and the mania surrounding Jack Sheppard and the rest of the “Newgate” novels.
Overall Murder by the Book is a solid work – a detailed and careful look at a certain moment in history. True crime fans and people interested in the Victorian era alike will surely find much to devour here.
More reviews at Napoleon's Pantaloons
Lord William Russell was about as inoffensive to Victorian society as any nobleman could be. He was widowed, lived alone with few servants, and spent a great amount of his time walking around his neighbourhood and reading memoirs. There was no one, as far as anyone knew, who would have found reason to be offended by him. So when he is found slain in his bed, his throat slit to the bone, genteel society is thrown into an uproar. There is no sign of a break-in, or of any struggle. So who could have been able to do this to him? Could it be – God forbid – one of his servants? And if so, what could have possessed them to commit such a heinous act?
The book goes into great detail about the murder and subsequent trial, as well as early Victorian society surrounding it at the time – the writers, such as Charles Dickens and Thackeray, who reacted to, and helped heighten, the trend in literature and drama for romantic villains and heroic criminals. Among them was the now obscure writer William Harrison Ainsworth, whose smash hit novel Jack Sheppard supposedly helped inspire Lord William’s slayer to commit his ghastly deed.
The book is a slim one, only a hair over 200 pages (sans index). Harman has clearly done her research, rendering the minutiae of the murder, investigation, and subsequent trial in detail. The same goes for her chronicle of early Victorian literary trends, including the early years and rise of Charles Dickens. However, I found the book’s weakest point to be its ‘readability’, so to speak – the book is so bogged down with facts and details about everything that it sometimes became hard to hold my attention, especially during the earlier parts of the book regarding the police investigation. However, I am not generally a true crime fan, so what may seem tedious to me may be a true crime lover’s bread and butter. I definitely did enjoy the detailed sections regarding the early Victorian writers and the mania surrounding Jack Sheppard and the rest of the “Newgate” novels.
Overall Murder by the Book is a solid work – a detailed and careful look at a certain moment in history. True crime fans and people interested in the Victorian era alike will surely find much to devour here.
More reviews at Napoleon's Pantaloons