Book Review: The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime by Judith Flanders
Great Britain in the Nineteenth Century underwent massive transformation in technology and culture, particularly during the reign of Queen Victoria, who lent her name to an entire era. This book looks specifically at murders of the time, and how they were both influenced by and influenced the changing times.
Starting with the razor murders of the Mann family on Ratcliffe Highway, and culminating with the infamous Jack the Ripper case of 1888, Ms. Flanders covers the influential murders (and a few other crimes) that made the papers, or otherwise got into the public consciousness. She looks at how they were reported (Nineteenth Century British newspapers were even less concerned with objectivity or reporting sober facts than their Twenty-First Century counterparts), fictionalized in plays and books, and their legacies.
Naturally, the establishment and evolution of modern British police forces and the advancement of science to aid in detection are also important topics laced throughout. It’s interesting to watch the police go in the public opinion from dangerous innovation, to oppressive force, to heroes, to bumblers. And not always in that order.
This is an exhaustive and sometimes exhausting survey of the topic–it took me over a month to finish reading. There are, thankfully, plenty of illustrations. As well, there are footnotes, thorough end notes, a long bibliography, and index.
There are snippets of poetry and song, and quotes from books and plays. One of my favorite bits is a phrase I thought I’d never see in a non-fiction book: “It broke through the vampire trap!”
I’d recommend this book to Victorian history buffs, murder mystery fans, and true crime lovers.
