Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
London : Bloomsbury, 2008.
Description
Biography & Autobiography. History. True Crime. Nonfiction. In June of 1860 three-year-old Saville Kent was found at the bottom of an outdoor privy with his throat slit. The crime horrified all England and led to a national obsession with detection, ironically destroying, in the process, the career of perhaps the greatest detective in the land. At the time, the detective was a relatively new invention; there were only eight detectives in all of England and rarely were they called out of London, but this crime was so shocking that Scotland Yard sent its best man to investigate, Inspector Jonathan Whicher. Whicher quickly believed the unbelievable-that someone within the family was responsible for the murder of young Saville Kent. Without sufficient evidence or a confession, though, his case was circumstantial and he returned to London a broken man. Though he would be vindicated five years later, the real legacy of Jonathan Whicher lives on in fiction: the tough, quirky, knowing, and all-seeing detective that we know and love today: from the cryptic Sergeant Cuff in Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone to Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher is a provocative work of nonfiction that reads like a Victorian thriller, and in it author Kate Summerscale has fashioned a brilliant, multilayered narrative that is as cleverly constructed as it is beautifully written.… (more)
Media reviews
The case has been discussed many times, and Summerscale turns the spotlight on the detective. This would be interesting if she knew more about him, but the material is so threadbare that Whicher cannot buy a railway ticket without our being given a description of Paddington Station. Yet she omits
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crucial information about the ill-treatment of Constance's brother. Show Less
Painstaking but never boring recreation of a sensational 1860 murder brings to shivering life the age of the Victorian detective. The Road Hill case served as fodder for the emerging detective genre taken up with relish by such authors as Dickens, Poe and Wilkie Collins. It perplexed detectives at
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the time and was resolved five years after the deed—and then only partially and unsatisfactorily, avers British journalist and biographer Summerscale.... Summerscale pursues the story over decades, enriching the account with explanations of the then-new detective terminology and methods and suggesting a convincing motive for Constance’s out-of-the-blue confession. A bang-up sleuthing adventure. Show Less
More important, Summerscale accomplishes what modern genre authors hardly bother to do anymore, which is to use a murder investigation as a portal to a wider world. When put in historical context, every aspect of this case tells us something about mid-Victorian society,
User reviews
LibraryThing member Apolline
The 30th of June 1860, 3 year old Saville Kent was abducted from his bed and killed in the most barbaric way. Killing a child is a gruesome action, and even worse when it turns out it has to be a member of the family or the household who did it. This book has every aspect of being a classic murder
This malicious act against little Saville hurt the whole Kent family, and their staff. Not a single person escaped suspicion and they all had to live with not knowing for a long time. If the murder ruined the Kent family, it also damaged the lives of persons who worked on the case. As the book title says, the main investigator was Mr. Whicher, and we learn just as much about him as the Kent family. I will not write too much about the plot, since it is a mystery.
But it is not just a mystery. One can actually learn much about the development of the modern police force in England, working conditions at the time, medias already interest in spectacular happenings etc. This particular murder, and the investigation that followed, was also the inspiration for many classic mysteries, like The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.
Conclusion: Interesting and good book. If you're in to 19th century mysteries, this book is a definite must-read.
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mystery tale, but this is actually the real thing, a true story. Little Saville did get murdered in 1860 and a great investigation took place to catch the killer. This book tries to give a correct version of what happened in 1860, and the years following, and the result is very good. We can only speculate in "what really happened", as we may never know the real truth, but the author has done good research and that makes this a good read. If murder could ever be really amusing. This malicious act against little Saville hurt the whole Kent family, and their staff. Not a single person escaped suspicion and they all had to live with not knowing for a long time. If the murder ruined the Kent family, it also damaged the lives of persons who worked on the case. As the book title says, the main investigator was Mr. Whicher, and we learn just as much about him as the Kent family. I will not write too much about the plot, since it is a mystery.
But it is not just a mystery. One can actually learn much about the development of the modern police force in England, working conditions at the time, medias already interest in spectacular happenings etc. This particular murder, and the investigation that followed, was also the inspiration for many classic mysteries, like The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins.
Conclusion: Interesting and good book. If you're in to 19th century mysteries, this book is a definite must-read.
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LibraryThing member MusicMom41
I ordered this book from the library because it was mentioned in one of the footnotes to The Moonstone that Mr. Whicher was the Scotland Yard detective who was the model for Collins’ character, Detective Cuff, in that novel. In fact, Kate Summerscale makes a good argument that Mr. Whicher was the
The central idea for this true crime book is the account of the murder and subsequent investigation of a young child who disappears in the middle of the night from his bed, which is in the room he shares with the nanny. The details of how this case played out are intriguing and give a good idea of how the new Scotland Yard detectives went about their work. I also enjoyed the historical details about Victorian life and mores. In this area Summerscale has written a fascinating story of life behind closed doors in the middle of the 19th century, revealing how the different classes viewed one another and demonstrating the mood of the nation in this era.
I do have a few quibbles with the book in that it could have been more tightly written. The author did a prodigious amount of research but she should have done a better job editing. Also annoying for me was the use of editorial metaphors in order to explain events. These slowed the pace of the story and didn’t add to the reader’s understanding. However, these were minor complaints and I recommend this book to anyone interested in the Victorian era and/or true crime stories. If you like love Victorian literature (which I do) this is a book you will enjoy. 3 ½ stars
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model for characters of several authors, including Charles Dickens, and that Whicher’s career was contributory to the popularity of the new type of novel that was the “detective story.”The central idea for this true crime book is the account of the murder and subsequent investigation of a young child who disappears in the middle of the night from his bed, which is in the room he shares with the nanny. The details of how this case played out are intriguing and give a good idea of how the new Scotland Yard detectives went about their work. I also enjoyed the historical details about Victorian life and mores. In this area Summerscale has written a fascinating story of life behind closed doors in the middle of the 19th century, revealing how the different classes viewed one another and demonstrating the mood of the nation in this era.
I do have a few quibbles with the book in that it could have been more tightly written. The author did a prodigious amount of research but she should have done a better job editing. Also annoying for me was the use of editorial metaphors in order to explain events. These slowed the pace of the story and didn’t add to the reader’s understanding. However, these were minor complaints and I recommend this book to anyone interested in the Victorian era and/or true crime stories. If you like love Victorian literature (which I do) this is a book you will enjoy. 3 ½ stars
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LibraryThing member Kasthu
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher is the true story of a murder that took place at Road Hill House in the English countryside. One night, at the end of June, 1860, three-year-old Saville Kent, son of a local factory inspector, was found dead in the privy of his family’s estate, his neck severed. A
Summerscale writes as though all this is fiction, and walks us right through the crime, from the time the Kents went to bed on that June evening up through a dramatic trial five years later and beyond. There were a number of brutal murders that took place around the time that London began to have its own specialized detective force, and these detectives were the inspiration for many fictional detectives, Inspector Bucket of Bleak House and Sergeant Cuff of The Moonstone, to name just two. Murders such as these were inspiration for much of the sensationalist fiction that was written in the 1850s and ‘60s; Ellen Wood and Mary Elizabeth Braddon were just two of the many authors who wrote this kind of “lowbrow” literature.
These murders were especially shocking to mid-Victorian values; as Summerscale points out many times in the course of her narrative, the home was sacred, and any invasion of that privacy was frowned upon far more than it would be today. What was remarkable about the Kents was the fact that their house did not resemble those of other Victorians, with the family living on the lower floors and the servants above. Rather, the servants slept near to the family, with the children of Samuel Kent’s first marriage living on the third floor. The fact that Mary Ann, Elizabeth, William, and Constance Kent were treated as inferiors played a large part in the murder investigation, as did a missing nightgown that might have been bloodstained.
The Road Hill House murder shares an eerie resemblance to Jane Eyre, which incidentally had been published the year before: both situations involved mad wives and governesses. Summerscale paints her hard-boiled detective Whicher as determined to get to the truth, no matter the cost to his reputation, and the Kent family one with many secrets to hide. Constance, the accused, is portrayed in a sympathetic light, as is Elizabeth Gough, the governess. In all, this was an absolutely superb book—it reads almost like The Woman In White which, incidentally, was running in installments at this time. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher is a must read for lovers of the Victorian period.
Related books: Lady Audley's Secret, Devil in the White City. Also recommended: Bleak House (Dickens's masterpiece, in my opinion) and The Woman in White and The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins.
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week later, Detective Jack Whicher, of Scotland Yard, arrived on the scene, and promptly determined that Saville’s half sister Constance, age 16, committed the horrible crime. What followed was a ghastly revealing of one family’s secrets in an era when the family and its home was considered to be sacrosanct.Summerscale writes as though all this is fiction, and walks us right through the crime, from the time the Kents went to bed on that June evening up through a dramatic trial five years later and beyond. There were a number of brutal murders that took place around the time that London began to have its own specialized detective force, and these detectives were the inspiration for many fictional detectives, Inspector Bucket of Bleak House and Sergeant Cuff of The Moonstone, to name just two. Murders such as these were inspiration for much of the sensationalist fiction that was written in the 1850s and ‘60s; Ellen Wood and Mary Elizabeth Braddon were just two of the many authors who wrote this kind of “lowbrow” literature.
These murders were especially shocking to mid-Victorian values; as Summerscale points out many times in the course of her narrative, the home was sacred, and any invasion of that privacy was frowned upon far more than it would be today. What was remarkable about the Kents was the fact that their house did not resemble those of other Victorians, with the family living on the lower floors and the servants above. Rather, the servants slept near to the family, with the children of Samuel Kent’s first marriage living on the third floor. The fact that Mary Ann, Elizabeth, William, and Constance Kent were treated as inferiors played a large part in the murder investigation, as did a missing nightgown that might have been bloodstained.
The Road Hill House murder shares an eerie resemblance to Jane Eyre, which incidentally had been published the year before: both situations involved mad wives and governesses. Summerscale paints her hard-boiled detective Whicher as determined to get to the truth, no matter the cost to his reputation, and the Kent family one with many secrets to hide. Constance, the accused, is portrayed in a sympathetic light, as is Elizabeth Gough, the governess. In all, this was an absolutely superb book—it reads almost like The Woman In White which, incidentally, was running in installments at this time. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher is a must read for lovers of the Victorian period.
Related books: Lady Audley's Secret, Devil in the White City. Also recommended: Bleak House (Dickens's masterpiece, in my opinion) and The Woman in White and The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins.
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LibraryThing member lilithcat
If you have read Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone, you have encountered, in the person of Sergeant Cuff, Detective-Inspector Jonathan Whicher of Scotland Yard. In other fiction of the period, you may well have found echoes of the murder case about which Ms. Summerscale writes.
In the early hours of
The public was fascinated by the case, and everyone fancied himself Whicher's rival in detection. Fingers pointed at the nursemaid, at the child's half-siblings, even at the child's father. Theories suggested adultery and madness. Newspapers alternately and variously supported Inspector Whicher's actions and attacked them. And it would not be until years later, with a confession, that the murder would be solved (though, even then, questions arose as to the reliability or complete truthfulness of that confession).
Why did this case arouse so much interest, so much public passion and debate and involvement? There were many reasons. The crime itself struck at the most private, protected place of an Englishman: his home. The investigation necessitated prying into a family's intimate secrets, and, worse, that prying was done into an upper-middle-class family by a man of the working class. Detectives were something new in England, and the English weren't quite sure they liked the idea.
Summerscale's great strength here is the way she interweaves the story of the murder with threads about English society in 1860. It's a fascinating story in itself, but is made far more nuanced by the way in which Summerscale relates it to the developments in England at large. I will say that I have seen at least one review of this book that complains that has "too much detail", and doesn't read sufficiently like a story. Hello? It's non-fiction, people! Frankly, I was rather impressed at how Summerscale was able to incorporate what was, in effect, a study of societal mores into the discussion of the murder case, and still make the book flow like a good novel without jettisoning scholarship.
(A note on notes: this book was extensively researched and, while endnotes are given for each chapter, Summerscale has also indicated "main sources" for groups of chapters. My one criticism of these notes is that, rather than having numbered endnotes, there are simply page references with the beginning of a sentence quoted. What's wrong with a superscript number and a corresponding endnote ((though a footnote would be preferable))? I do not understand why editors expect readers to be constantly flipping to the back of a book to see if there's a note or notes. I don't know if this is generally a choice of the author or of the editors, but I wish it would stop.)
In the early hours of
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June 29, 1860, in the country house of Road Hill, near Trowbridge, England, a three-year-old boy named Saville Kent was spirited from his crib and murdered, his body found the next day at the bottom of the privy. When, after two weeks, the local police were, as Sherlock Holmes would have said, "baffled", they called in Scotland Yard, which sent DI Whicher. All signs suggested that the murderer must have been someone resident in the house. Then, on July 20, Whicher convinced the local magistrates to issue a warrant for the arrest of Constance Kent, the child's half-sister. But after a hearing to determine whether there was sufficient evidence to charge her, Constance was released. On October 1, at the behest of a solicitor who headed a commission investigating the murder, the nursemaid, Elizabeth Gough, was arrested, but the upshot was the same.The public was fascinated by the case, and everyone fancied himself Whicher's rival in detection. Fingers pointed at the nursemaid, at the child's half-siblings, even at the child's father. Theories suggested adultery and madness. Newspapers alternately and variously supported Inspector Whicher's actions and attacked them. And it would not be until years later, with a confession, that the murder would be solved (though, even then, questions arose as to the reliability or complete truthfulness of that confession).
Why did this case arouse so much interest, so much public passion and debate and involvement? There were many reasons. The crime itself struck at the most private, protected place of an Englishman: his home. The investigation necessitated prying into a family's intimate secrets, and, worse, that prying was done into an upper-middle-class family by a man of the working class. Detectives were something new in England, and the English weren't quite sure they liked the idea.
Summerscale's great strength here is the way she interweaves the story of the murder with threads about English society in 1860. It's a fascinating story in itself, but is made far more nuanced by the way in which Summerscale relates it to the developments in England at large. I will say that I have seen at least one review of this book that complains that has "too much detail", and doesn't read sufficiently like a story. Hello? It's non-fiction, people! Frankly, I was rather impressed at how Summerscale was able to incorporate what was, in effect, a study of societal mores into the discussion of the murder case, and still make the book flow like a good novel without jettisoning scholarship.
(A note on notes: this book was extensively researched and, while endnotes are given for each chapter, Summerscale has also indicated "main sources" for groups of chapters. My one criticism of these notes is that, rather than having numbered endnotes, there are simply page references with the beginning of a sentence quoted. What's wrong with a superscript number and a corresponding endnote ((though a footnote would be preferable))? I do not understand why editors expect readers to be constantly flipping to the back of a book to see if there's a note or notes. I don't know if this is generally a choice of the author or of the editors, but I wish it would stop.)
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LibraryThing member patrickgarson
This is a most interesting book, especially for lovers of detective fiction, and anyone interested in Victorian society. But be aware: the eponymous murder is really more of a hook on which Summerscale slings a veritable wardrobe of Victoriana concerning the burgeoning vocation of the detective,
Young Saville Kent is taken from his bed one night, and brutally murdered. The locks on the house point to one of its occupants as the culprit. Is it one of Saville's abused step-siblings? The lascivious nursemaid? Or perhaps the Master of the house, who already has more than a few skeletons rattling around in the closet?
It's an undeniably catchy set-up, and it seems almost too good to be fact, echoing the plots of dozens of novels from The Moonstone to Edwin Drood. Toss in a dynamic detective who always gets his man - or woman - and all the ingredients for a cracking tale are present.
And yet, reality has a way of complicating things, and Summerscale is too much of a scholar to glide over the unknown or elide the inconvenient. This means our narrative and the characters driving it quickly become subservient to the vagaries of history.
The first casuality is the characters - because they aren't characters, they're people, and Summerscale, frustatingly but in many ways admirably, refuses to be drawn on their thoughts or motivations. Shortly to follow is the case itself, which starts out like a cobblestoned thoroughfare and quickly turns into a winding country lane, proceeding in fits and starts and disappearing altogether in a forest of Victorian detail.
Make no mistake: The detail is in the main absolutely fascinating. Victorian society is the progenitor of so much we take for granted in the west, but at the same time it can seem like a foreign country. Summerscale's research is simply incredible; she digs up the most obscure primary sources she can find, and it gives the book and her conjectures a bullet-proof aura of credibility. There are gems like this on practically every page.
But, with its complicated, messy narrative, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher can proceed slowly at times. This is _not_ a novel; it's a treatise on Victorian culture with a unique framing device. As long as you keep that in mind, you well be well rewarded by this book.
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and its manifestations in popular print and culture - rather than the irresistible narrative the book promises.Young Saville Kent is taken from his bed one night, and brutally murdered. The locks on the house point to one of its occupants as the culprit. Is it one of Saville's abused step-siblings? The lascivious nursemaid? Or perhaps the Master of the house, who already has more than a few skeletons rattling around in the closet?
It's an undeniably catchy set-up, and it seems almost too good to be fact, echoing the plots of dozens of novels from The Moonstone to Edwin Drood. Toss in a dynamic detective who always gets his man - or woman - and all the ingredients for a cracking tale are present.
And yet, reality has a way of complicating things, and Summerscale is too much of a scholar to glide over the unknown or elide the inconvenient. This means our narrative and the characters driving it quickly become subservient to the vagaries of history.
The first casuality is the characters - because they aren't characters, they're people, and Summerscale, frustatingly but in many ways admirably, refuses to be drawn on their thoughts or motivations. Shortly to follow is the case itself, which starts out like a cobblestoned thoroughfare and quickly turns into a winding country lane, proceeding in fits and starts and disappearing altogether in a forest of Victorian detail.
Make no mistake: The detail is in the main absolutely fascinating. Victorian society is the progenitor of so much we take for granted in the west, but at the same time it can seem like a foreign country. Summerscale's research is simply incredible; she digs up the most obscure primary sources she can find, and it gives the book and her conjectures a bullet-proof aura of credibility. There are gems like this on practically every page.
But, with its complicated, messy narrative, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher can proceed slowly at times. This is _not_ a novel; it's a treatise on Victorian culture with a unique framing device. As long as you keep that in mind, you well be well rewarded by this book.
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LibraryThing member reading_fox
I'm glad I didn't pay for this. It was the 3rd of three for two, and Blurbed by Ian Rankin and le Carre, (and Sarah Waters - who?) as well as being a Richard and Judy hot pick. It's neither 'a classic', 'totally rivetting' (rather the reverse) or even 'terrific'. It should really be titled, the
So what is it supposed to be about? In 1860 Mr Samuel Kent's yonugest son is found brutally murdered in the privy. The local forces can make nothing of it so a detective from London is sent for - Mr Whicher. He makes some conclusions, but fails to provide enough evidence and the case collapses. Eventually a suspect confesses, and is jailed for 20 years.
All the rest is padding: The history of the british police force prior to the appointment of Mr Whicher; Mr Whicher's personal past; the life and times of the family; their various fortunes; other theories that people emminently not qualified to propose, sent to the newspapers; random commentry on the nature of society and how 'the people' might have thought about the police; and other dull guessworks. Eventually some form of conclusion is sort of reached -not the speculation of Mr Whicher but further unsupported guesswork by the author. Oh and lots of excerpts from contemporary fiction apparently illustrating some point of the detective's or public's thoughts. Quite how fiction is supposed to be a reliable historical record I'm not sure. The excerpts are also dull - mostly irrelevant, and where potentially relevant, isolated from all context so you can't tell.
It does have a few plus points - it's basically well written with only a few obvious grammatical errors of case and tense. Some of the history and the more supported statements of public frame of mind are occasionally interesting. The case itself is described in sufficient detail to make it vaguely compelling in the style of Sherlock Holmes to deduce who ultimately turns out to be responsible.
Basically dull. Not recommended, if you prefer historical insight read the newspapers of the time, or if you prefer a crime story read Sherlock Holmes (set 40 years later) or Murders in the Rue Morgue by Poe.
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Other half writes: I finished this book today, Pancake Day 2009. I also thought it was dull, but in places rather than throughout. I didn't think "9/10ths is historical speculation" with references and sources quoted most times. Most grammos, I believe, are an indication of grammar at the time, or are quotes from ill-educated folk from the time. I quite liked the book, but it seemed to me to be written as an essay - probably the longest essay I've ever read! I keep thinking about it, and coming up with questions, so it has entered my subconscious somewhere rather than being dismissed quickly from my mind. Not the most interesting, but not the most dull writing either. I have never read a book like it before. Definitely different.
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life and times of Samuel Kent and his extended family, as guessed by the author with extensive digressions, because very little indeed is in any way connected to the detective Mr Whicher. Most, I would guess a good 9/10ths is historical speculation from the author, sometimes using original sources, but as these are never linked in the text it is hard to be sure. There are extensive notes in the back if you manage to maintain any interest to reach that far. The rest are various anecdotes that the author came across in her research about the times and places and couldn't resist including in the text even though they had no relevance to the case, and served merely to pad the page count. So what is it supposed to be about? In 1860 Mr Samuel Kent's yonugest son is found brutally murdered in the privy. The local forces can make nothing of it so a detective from London is sent for - Mr Whicher. He makes some conclusions, but fails to provide enough evidence and the case collapses. Eventually a suspect confesses, and is jailed for 20 years.
All the rest is padding: The history of the british police force prior to the appointment of Mr Whicher; Mr Whicher's personal past; the life and times of the family; their various fortunes; other theories that people emminently not qualified to propose, sent to the newspapers; random commentry on the nature of society and how 'the people' might have thought about the police; and other dull guessworks. Eventually some form of conclusion is sort of reached -not the speculation of Mr Whicher but further unsupported guesswork by the author. Oh and lots of excerpts from contemporary fiction apparently illustrating some point of the detective's or public's thoughts. Quite how fiction is supposed to be a reliable historical record I'm not sure. The excerpts are also dull - mostly irrelevant, and where potentially relevant, isolated from all context so you can't tell.
It does have a few plus points - it's basically well written with only a few obvious grammatical errors of case and tense. Some of the history and the more supported statements of public frame of mind are occasionally interesting. The case itself is described in sufficient detail to make it vaguely compelling in the style of Sherlock Holmes to deduce who ultimately turns out to be responsible.
Basically dull. Not recommended, if you prefer historical insight read the newspapers of the time, or if you prefer a crime story read Sherlock Holmes (set 40 years later) or Murders in the Rue Morgue by Poe.
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Other half writes: I finished this book today, Pancake Day 2009. I also thought it was dull, but in places rather than throughout. I didn't think "9/10ths is historical speculation" with references and sources quoted most times. Most grammos, I believe, are an indication of grammar at the time, or are quotes from ill-educated folk from the time. I quite liked the book, but it seemed to me to be written as an essay - probably the longest essay I've ever read! I keep thinking about it, and coming up with questions, so it has entered my subconscious somewhere rather than being dismissed quickly from my mind. Not the most interesting, but not the most dull writing either. I have never read a book like it before. Definitely different.
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LibraryThing member FMRox
Painful accounting of the Road House murder in 19c England. Readings of court documents, letters, newspaper and magazine stories give the history. It's told in an lack luster way. Very repetitive. I didn't enjoy this book at all, yet I was able to force myself to finish it.
LibraryThing member drneutron
Scotland Yard was created as a new branch of the Metropolitan Police in London in the mid-1800's. The detectives of the Yard were a new breed of policeman for England - part undercover cop, part spy, part investigator. These "men of mystery" captured the imagination of the public, and yet their
In 1860, the young child of a civil servant posted in the countryside was murdered in a case that caused a national stir much like, for instance, JonBenet Ramsey in the current day US. The local police managed to bungle the investigation initially, and one of the Scotland Yard detectives - Jack Whicher - was called in. Through the initial problems with the investigation and Whicher's rough techniques, the case became thoroughly confused, and a number of involved parties were accused of the crime. The Suspicions of Mr Whicher documents the case and the subsequent history of the involved parties.
But Summerscale does more than that. Whicher's inability to bring the case to conclusion became a national scandal that carried over into the detective fiction literary evolution. The Suspicions of Mr Whicher gives some history of the detective story of the time, how the concept of the detective changed in fiction during that time, and how this case changed the public perception of the detective - both literary and real.
Recommended, especially if you like Victorian crime fiction.
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methods were viewed as appropriate for the lower class, but not for the middle and upper class. The detectives were used as models for a new kind of fiction - what we call the Victorian detective novel.In 1860, the young child of a civil servant posted in the countryside was murdered in a case that caused a national stir much like, for instance, JonBenet Ramsey in the current day US. The local police managed to bungle the investigation initially, and one of the Scotland Yard detectives - Jack Whicher - was called in. Through the initial problems with the investigation and Whicher's rough techniques, the case became thoroughly confused, and a number of involved parties were accused of the crime. The Suspicions of Mr Whicher documents the case and the subsequent history of the involved parties.
But Summerscale does more than that. Whicher's inability to bring the case to conclusion became a national scandal that carried over into the detective fiction literary evolution. The Suspicions of Mr Whicher gives some history of the detective story of the time, how the concept of the detective changed in fiction during that time, and how this case changed the public perception of the detective - both literary and real.
Recommended, especially if you like Victorian crime fiction.
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LibraryThing member irkthepurist
one of my many peculiarities is that i'll take the building blocks of a genre almost any day over what they eventually built towards. for example, i've very much found myself drawn to pre-1930 science fiction almost out of inherent awkwardness but also out of fascination of seeing conventions
this last year i've read more than i can care to remember of the likes of victor whitechurch, baroness orczy and countless other short stories in rivals of sherlock holmes styled collections. like my other beloved genre of the period - ghost stories - some have creaked, some have shown early promise and then withered away to nothing, while others have been frankly startlingly brilliant. there's something eternally fascinating about the victorian era for me, in terms of art and literature and even just the people themselves. this time in british history where people were beginning to get almost scared by developments in science and technology and almost clung, desperately to mysteries - be it supernatural or psychological. certainities seem to have scared the people of the mid nineteenth century more than we can ever really understand now. and i think crime fiction has a lot to do with that. the point of this, is that i've just finished reading kate summerscale's phenomenal "the suspicions of mr whicher", the history of the infamous 1860 road hill house murder, and the most fascinating element of it to me - other than it's dominance in so much of crime fiction to come - is how little the general public wanted the certainty of the actual solution of the crime to come out. inspector jack whicher's solution to the crime was roundly mocked and derided, the previously much admired policeman, especially by charles dickens and wilkie collins, had a career pretty much in tatters and even when whicher was proved to be right, no one seemed to want to believe it. it's fascinating to see how many innordinately complex and convuluted solutions the public - and, it must be said, authors such as dickens - were prepared to accept rather than the awful reality of the case. and even when the truth was discovered, you get the feeling that there was a hint of... disappointment? this mystery had been solved and the solution was found wanting. certainly the myriad creative works the case would inspire would almost unanimously reject the real story and go back to the favoured complicated pet theories of adultery and dark goings on with the hired help
to be honest, no ammount of puffery and flummery from me can do this book justice. summerscale's brilliance is that she deals with the murder with the same simplicity and keen eye for detail that she so obviously admires in her titular hero, whicher. whicher is something of an enigma - no photos remain, his back story remains shadowy despite summerscale's obviously dogged research, but he was roundly admired by many before the road hill case and elements of his professional manner have, as summerscale points out, become something of the psychological make up of almost every detective since: quiet, unassuming, melancholy, keen eyed, quick witted and solitary. he became the template for detective sergeant cuff, the hero of one of the first great british crime novels, "the moonstone" by wilkie collins and he also was borrowed from by dickens' to create "bleak house"'s inspector bucket, although that was mainly a tribute to whicher's one time boss charley field. summerscale also points out that the inherent distrust of the police that seemed to develop from the unpopularity of whicher's solution to the crime - one that *really* seemed to grip the whole country - led to the dominance of the professional amateur set by the sherlock holmes stories, and the police as well meaning dunderheads
you are frankly never ceasingly amazed by the amount of popular culture that this case seemed to inspire. dickens, collins, henry james, "lady audley's secret"... i had no idea that "the christmas party" segment of "dead of night", one of my very favourite films of all time (and certainly the most terrifying), was inspired by this case. even golden age detective hack writer john rhodes wrote a version of the story. when you start to look at the frenzy surrounding this you are firstly yet AGAIN reminded there is nothing new under the sun (the ignorance of much of the general populus, the whipping up of popular sentiment by the press) and then amazed by how many of the cliches of the crime genre start here: the country house; dark secrets in family histories; the importance of motive; the lost evidence; stupid local police; local colour. it's all here and it was all real. and, as with so many books i've read lately, the truth of the story is even more striking than the fiction it inspired. dear god, the case even touches on the tichborne claimant. summerscale's true genius is tying up all these loose ends, tidying them up and then revealing the wider, broader picture of a fascinating period of british history. i cannot recommend this book enough
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slowly take form and develop rather than be wearily retrodden for the umpteenth time. crime fiction is a bit of a misnomer within that though. i came to crime fiction as a teenage because i liked the campion tv series and fancied reading some of the originals, and also - like a lot of slightly awkward teenage boys whose favourite doctor who stories included "the talons of weng chiang" - because i'd been fully immersed in the worlds of sherlock holmes since before i could ever remember. i've come back regularly to those foundation works though, especially of late. when i read the howard haycraft book on the history of the crime novel and also t j binyon's masterpiece, i particularly found that shadowy, early world of crime fiction - before it reached it's sort of commercial and popular peak with the golden age and then moved into umpteen million different directions, with that orginal format atrophying into the dreaded world of the cosy crime novel - fascinating. partly because i recognised a lot of it from my dabbling in holmes and holmesiana, but also because here was a world where the cliches *hadn't* been discovered yet to be flogged to deaththis last year i've read more than i can care to remember of the likes of victor whitechurch, baroness orczy and countless other short stories in rivals of sherlock holmes styled collections. like my other beloved genre of the period - ghost stories - some have creaked, some have shown early promise and then withered away to nothing, while others have been frankly startlingly brilliant. there's something eternally fascinating about the victorian era for me, in terms of art and literature and even just the people themselves. this time in british history where people were beginning to get almost scared by developments in science and technology and almost clung, desperately to mysteries - be it supernatural or psychological. certainities seem to have scared the people of the mid nineteenth century more than we can ever really understand now. and i think crime fiction has a lot to do with that. the point of this, is that i've just finished reading kate summerscale's phenomenal "the suspicions of mr whicher", the history of the infamous 1860 road hill house murder, and the most fascinating element of it to me - other than it's dominance in so much of crime fiction to come - is how little the general public wanted the certainty of the actual solution of the crime to come out. inspector jack whicher's solution to the crime was roundly mocked and derided, the previously much admired policeman, especially by charles dickens and wilkie collins, had a career pretty much in tatters and even when whicher was proved to be right, no one seemed to want to believe it. it's fascinating to see how many innordinately complex and convuluted solutions the public - and, it must be said, authors such as dickens - were prepared to accept rather than the awful reality of the case. and even when the truth was discovered, you get the feeling that there was a hint of... disappointment? this mystery had been solved and the solution was found wanting. certainly the myriad creative works the case would inspire would almost unanimously reject the real story and go back to the favoured complicated pet theories of adultery and dark goings on with the hired help
to be honest, no ammount of puffery and flummery from me can do this book justice. summerscale's brilliance is that she deals with the murder with the same simplicity and keen eye for detail that she so obviously admires in her titular hero, whicher. whicher is something of an enigma - no photos remain, his back story remains shadowy despite summerscale's obviously dogged research, but he was roundly admired by many before the road hill case and elements of his professional manner have, as summerscale points out, become something of the psychological make up of almost every detective since: quiet, unassuming, melancholy, keen eyed, quick witted and solitary. he became the template for detective sergeant cuff, the hero of one of the first great british crime novels, "the moonstone" by wilkie collins and he also was borrowed from by dickens' to create "bleak house"'s inspector bucket, although that was mainly a tribute to whicher's one time boss charley field. summerscale also points out that the inherent distrust of the police that seemed to develop from the unpopularity of whicher's solution to the crime - one that *really* seemed to grip the whole country - led to the dominance of the professional amateur set by the sherlock holmes stories, and the police as well meaning dunderheads
you are frankly never ceasingly amazed by the amount of popular culture that this case seemed to inspire. dickens, collins, henry james, "lady audley's secret"... i had no idea that "the christmas party" segment of "dead of night", one of my very favourite films of all time (and certainly the most terrifying), was inspired by this case. even golden age detective hack writer john rhodes wrote a version of the story. when you start to look at the frenzy surrounding this you are firstly yet AGAIN reminded there is nothing new under the sun (the ignorance of much of the general populus, the whipping up of popular sentiment by the press) and then amazed by how many of the cliches of the crime genre start here: the country house; dark secrets in family histories; the importance of motive; the lost evidence; stupid local police; local colour. it's all here and it was all real. and, as with so many books i've read lately, the truth of the story is even more striking than the fiction it inspired. dear god, the case even touches on the tichborne claimant. summerscale's true genius is tying up all these loose ends, tidying them up and then revealing the wider, broader picture of a fascinating period of british history. i cannot recommend this book enough
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LibraryThing member eleanor_eader
A true crime story that reads like historic fiction was always going to win me over; yet as a veteran crime-fiction reader, I wasn't expecting to find the actual subject matter so fascinating.
Jack Whicher was one of the eight original Scotland Yard detectives, and this was the case that almost
Jack Whicher was one of the eight original Scotland Yard detectives, and this was the case that almost
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brought their celebrated status to a halt. The crime was horrifying in its stark, nonsensical brutality, littered with clues and false leads, took place in in a large house within a family unit divided by a past marriage, and came with more theories per individual suspect than an Agatha Christie novel. Despite the hard research that Summerscale obviously poured into this book, there is an unmistakable element of romance to the retelling - the crime that spawned the Victorian murder mystery genre is replete with key storytelling elements already in place, with one crucial improvement; the ending is satisfyingly oblique. Show Less
LibraryThing member Eat_Read_Knit
I liked this book a lot, but I did think it could have been better. There were some parts that seemed more like prurient gossip than analysis of historical documents (which I think is an issue of style and tone rather than content) and some parts that were quite repetitive. The absence of proper
Having got the criticisms out of the way, let me say that I did enjoy reading this book. I enjoyed it a lot. I found the social and literary history absolutely fascinating. The history of the police force was very well covered, and the account of the change in public perception of the detectives was fascinating. It was also interesting to see the inner workings of the Victorian police, and to read about the detective as a person rather than just as a detective.
I very much enjoyed seeing how the development of detective fiction related to events then current in the news, and liked the way this analysis was woven into the narrative; The Woman in White and The Moonstone are both on my To Read pile, and I'm very keen now to read them and to see how the attitudes and events surrounding this case come out in them.
The book is well researched, well constructed, and written in an engaging style.
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footnoting drove me insane. There are pages and pages of notes in the back, with source references and comment, but nothing in the text to refer you to them. Either you skip back and forth to see whether there's a footnote for that paragraph, or you ignore them completely. Presumably this was done to give an informal tone instead of making it seem academic, but it irritated me no end.Having got the criticisms out of the way, let me say that I did enjoy reading this book. I enjoyed it a lot. I found the social and literary history absolutely fascinating. The history of the police force was very well covered, and the account of the change in public perception of the detectives was fascinating. It was also interesting to see the inner workings of the Victorian police, and to read about the detective as a person rather than just as a detective.
I very much enjoyed seeing how the development of detective fiction related to events then current in the news, and liked the way this analysis was woven into the narrative; The Woman in White and The Moonstone are both on my To Read pile, and I'm very keen now to read them and to see how the attitudes and events surrounding this case come out in them.
The book is well researched, well constructed, and written in an engaging style.
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LibraryThing member sainsborough
Do not fear - I don't give anything of the mystery away in this review!
This is one of very few crime stories in my library. I have a friend who likes to read the same Agatha Christie novels over and over again, presumably because she finds the logic of the puzzle-solving satisfying. However, I
However, "The Suspicions of Mr Whicher" is somehow different. It is factual, or aims to be, so one is not reading the product of someone's dark preoccupations. The story struck me as terribly sad, and because I had sympathy for all the characters, including the murderer, it made me feel less voyeuristic to read it. In fact, for me, the fascination was not the details of the murder itself, but the family dynamics that created the environment for the deed. Also very interesting is the accompanying social history.
The sobering thought is how a person can be so short-sighted as to take an action which not only causes suffering to others, but enduring damage to themselves.
This book I found to be mostly gripping and un-put-downable, but it meanders through some rather less absorbing passages towards the end, so I give it four stars, not five. However, it's worth sticking with it to the end, especially if you have the 2009 paperback edition, which I do, because the author delivers a moving surprise in the final pages.
This is one of very few crime stories in my library. I have a friend who likes to read the same Agatha Christie novels over and over again, presumably because she finds the logic of the puzzle-solving satisfying. However, I
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don't like reading fictional crime for entertainment. I have started reading an Ian Rankin novel, but have resolved to stop and give the book away - I don't like the dark seedy world he takes one into, I don't want to go there.However, "The Suspicions of Mr Whicher" is somehow different. It is factual, or aims to be, so one is not reading the product of someone's dark preoccupations. The story struck me as terribly sad, and because I had sympathy for all the characters, including the murderer, it made me feel less voyeuristic to read it. In fact, for me, the fascination was not the details of the murder itself, but the family dynamics that created the environment for the deed. Also very interesting is the accompanying social history.
The sobering thought is how a person can be so short-sighted as to take an action which not only causes suffering to others, but enduring damage to themselves.
This book I found to be mostly gripping and un-put-downable, but it meanders through some rather less absorbing passages towards the end, so I give it four stars, not five. However, it's worth sticking with it to the end, especially if you have the 2009 paperback edition, which I do, because the author delivers a moving surprise in the final pages.
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LibraryThing member gward101
There are a good few reviews of this book already, so I won't labour the obvious points. Yes, The Suspicions of Mr Whicher is a meticulously researched investigation into a notorious murder case, yes, it gives us an insight into the birth of detective fiction (in the English-speaking world at
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least), but there are a couple of facts which will stay with me after reading the book longer than either of the above. Firstly, we may be separated from the murder of young Saville Kent by some 150 years but I can't help but draw parallels between the reaction from the media of the time and the furore which would accompany a similar crime today. The more things change, it seems, the more they stay the same. Tabloid hysteria is not a modern-day phenomenon. Secondly (and I'm afraid there are spoilers ahead here) I'm nonplussed by how 16-year-old murderess Constance Kent fared in the years after the crime she confessed to. Spared from the death sentence for murdering her young half brother - which would surely have been customary at the time for someone of a lower class - Constance served a lengthy jail term but went on to lead a productive life on her release, including working with with leprosy sufferers. An example of someone turning over a new leaf? Or - as the book hints at- an example of someone protecting a loved one? We''ll probably never know but the question is intriguing none-the-less. Show Less
LibraryThing member MissReadsTooMuch
The author obviously has done excellent research and can tell a story well but this book is repetitive - she repeats the facts over and over again and adds in too many things that have nothing to do with the case at all. It is an interesting story at heart but has so much padding it is hard to keep
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reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member susanamper
Story of brutal murder of a 4 year old in 1860 middle class England. Suspects abound--parents, servants, children, step children, etc. Mr. Whicher, one of the very first "detectives" in England is brought in to help solve the crime. He is stonewalled by police and the household, and in addition to
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a story of a crime unsolved, the book relates the class snobbery that prohibits Whicher from excelling at his job. Summerscale does a great job of generating suspense while she sprinkles the tale with factoids about real detectives and their fictional counterparts. A very fun read. Show Less
LibraryThing member sjanes
nother lovely book review thanks to Mini Book Expo:
“The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: A murder and the undoing of a great Victorian detective,” by Kate Summerscale, published by Raincoast Books, 2008.
This is a fantastic piece of historical nonfiction that reads as grippingly as any murder mystery
It’s 1860, and the body of a three-year-old child is found stuffed down an outdoor lavatory. His throat has been cut, and his chest stabbed, and he appears to have been suffocated as well. The killer must be someone known to the victim and his family — someone from the nearby village, or one of the help, or even one of the family. This horrible killing quickly becomes a national obsession. While the local police fumble evidence (accidentally or with help?) citizens from across the country write in to newspapers with their favourite theories, and the Metropolitan Police sends in their best detective to help.
The role of plainclothes detective is a new one, and one that’s not regarded fondly by the upper class British at this time. It’s shocking that someone could be authorized (and paid!) to spy upon citizens who have done nothing wrong. It’s even more shocking, of course, when one of these working-class, little-better-than-a-criminal-himself detectives enters a respectable home to interfere with its private workings and accuse a teenage girl of murdering her brother. Detective-Inspecter Jonathan Whicher is certain that the killer is Constance Kent, sixteen years old and half-sister to the victim. (After her mother died–and was rumoured to be insane in the years before–her father remarried the governess and had several more children.)
Unfortunately for Whicher, there just wasn’t enough evidence to convict Constance, and what with popular suspicion falling upon the boy’s governess, she went free and the crime went unsolved for years. Whicher’s career suffered, as did the reputation of the detectives in general.
Detective fiction did pretty well, on the other hand. Authors like Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens found lots of material for their stories in this new method of crime-solving. Summerscale traces nearly the entire history of the genre back to this and a few other famous cases in the mid-nineteenth-century.
And by the end of the volume some more light is shed on the murderer, the motive, and the way all of these lives played out after the tragedy.
As I mentioned, this book is excellently written, compelling, and thoroughly researched. One is given no reason to doubt Summerscale’s theories and conclusions. A good deal of context is given to put the murder itself in the proper time and place, and this never seems to bog down. No detail is irrelevant. The quotations from contemporary literature are perfect for shedding light on public opinion towards crime and detection.
While there are very few footnotes in the text itself, the voluminous research to support the work is indicated in an extensive Notes section. The reference material also includes a bibliography, an index, maps, and a list of characters (which I must admit I referred to frequently.) Incidentally, the binding and printing are of a pretty good quality, and I’m fond of the subtly hyper-sensational cover image.
All of which may pale beside the fact that this is a fun read. I got through much of it in airports (true of so many things I read, unfortunately) and it was more than sufficient to help me forget my surroundings. Goes quickly and is thoroughly enjoyable.
“The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: A murder and the undoing of a great Victorian detective,” by Kate Summerscale, published by Raincoast Books, 2008.
This is a fantastic piece of historical nonfiction that reads as grippingly as any murder mystery
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of the more fictional variety. Summerscale is an excellent researcher as well as an excellent writer, and I can’t think of a single weakness in the way this came together.It’s 1860, and the body of a three-year-old child is found stuffed down an outdoor lavatory. His throat has been cut, and his chest stabbed, and he appears to have been suffocated as well. The killer must be someone known to the victim and his family — someone from the nearby village, or one of the help, or even one of the family. This horrible killing quickly becomes a national obsession. While the local police fumble evidence (accidentally or with help?) citizens from across the country write in to newspapers with their favourite theories, and the Metropolitan Police sends in their best detective to help.
The role of plainclothes detective is a new one, and one that’s not regarded fondly by the upper class British at this time. It’s shocking that someone could be authorized (and paid!) to spy upon citizens who have done nothing wrong. It’s even more shocking, of course, when one of these working-class, little-better-than-a-criminal-himself detectives enters a respectable home to interfere with its private workings and accuse a teenage girl of murdering her brother. Detective-Inspecter Jonathan Whicher is certain that the killer is Constance Kent, sixteen years old and half-sister to the victim. (After her mother died–and was rumoured to be insane in the years before–her father remarried the governess and had several more children.)
Unfortunately for Whicher, there just wasn’t enough evidence to convict Constance, and what with popular suspicion falling upon the boy’s governess, she went free and the crime went unsolved for years. Whicher’s career suffered, as did the reputation of the detectives in general.
Detective fiction did pretty well, on the other hand. Authors like Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens found lots of material for their stories in this new method of crime-solving. Summerscale traces nearly the entire history of the genre back to this and a few other famous cases in the mid-nineteenth-century.
And by the end of the volume some more light is shed on the murderer, the motive, and the way all of these lives played out after the tragedy.
As I mentioned, this book is excellently written, compelling, and thoroughly researched. One is given no reason to doubt Summerscale’s theories and conclusions. A good deal of context is given to put the murder itself in the proper time and place, and this never seems to bog down. No detail is irrelevant. The quotations from contemporary literature are perfect for shedding light on public opinion towards crime and detection.
While there are very few footnotes in the text itself, the voluminous research to support the work is indicated in an extensive Notes section. The reference material also includes a bibliography, an index, maps, and a list of characters (which I must admit I referred to frequently.) Incidentally, the binding and printing are of a pretty good quality, and I’m fond of the subtly hyper-sensational cover image.
All of which may pale beside the fact that this is a fun read. I got through much of it in airports (true of so many things I read, unfortunately) and it was more than sufficient to help me forget my surroundings. Goes quickly and is thoroughly enjoyable.
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LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd
A little Victorian mystery is always good for distraction. I think the subtitle is a bit misleading. The murder was certainly shocking, but the investigation didn't actually "undo" Detective Jack Whicher, who wasn't all that great a detective either, based on the details of his career documented his prime suspect confessed five years later . But he hadn't established any great reputation at the time. The disappearance of three-year old Saville Kent, and the discovery of his stabbed and mutilated body in a privy behind his home in 1860 led to the investigation detailed in [The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher]. The entire Kent household--family and servants-- came under scrutiny, in an age where personal privacy, modesty and discretion were so highly valued that a policeman asking to search for a murder weapon in your home, even under such dire circumstances, was almost unthinkable. God help us, the state of the women's underwear became an issue! (It's really no wonder so many women in the 19th century were seen as suffering from a form of madness...) This is more than a "true crime" story; the lives of all the principals, before and after the event, are set forth in a fair amount of detail, and some of them are quite remarkable. The victim's older half-brother, William (whom Whicher never entirely exonerated in his mind, despite sister Constance's confession and insistence that she alone was responsible) grew up to be a dedicated naturalist, whose book on coral reefs was definitive on the subject for decades. His half-sister Constance lived to be 100 years of age, and was noted for nursing lepers in Australia. This was an interesting companion to [Affinity], the Sarah Waters novel featuring the infamous Millbank prison on the Thames, which I read last year.
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here. To be fair, the whole art/science of detection was very new in the mid-19th century. Apparently he did figure out who dunnit, and nobody believed him until Show Less
LibraryThing member bcquinnsmom
I did not realize when I put this on my book wish list that this was a work of nonfiction. The Mr Whicher of the title is one Detective Jonathan Whicher, who in 1860, was asked by local Wiltshire police to investigate the very heinous murder of a little boy, aged 4. It seems that when his nursemaid
Summerscale has done her homework -- after finishing the book, I went through the notes and discovered that she had used a wealth of primary and secondary sources to put together this work. I can appreciate all of the research that went into the book, having done a post-graduate degree in history myself. Yet it is not just a history or a social commentary; the book flows very well, making it very readable and accessible. Personally, I love this period of time, and I have this thing about true crime of the Victorian era, especially when it comes to stories about murderesses.
I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who is interested in the Victorian period, in the beginnings of the detective in real life and in fiction, in true crime through time, or to anyone who just wants to read an incredibly interesting and absorbing story. I took a lot of titles down from her sources for further reading.
Absolutely splendid -- and as it turns out, it wasn't just another detective story, but a story about a detective and the crime that did him in. Highly recommended.
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woke up in the morning little Francis Savile Kent was not in his bed; mistakenly thinking he was collected during the night by his mother, she inquired about him once the household was awake. The mother was surprised to learn he was not in the bed, and a search was made. They found the little boy dumped in the privy, throat cut. Whicher appeared somewhat late on the scene, and by then, the accusations were rampant. and directed at different people in the household. Whicher, as a detective, had to intrude upon this upper middle-class Victorian household as part of his investigation, because in his opinion, the murder was done by someone who lived at the house, namely young Savile's stepsister, Constance Emily Kent. In those days, detection was not a lofty profession, and to even consider trying to get at the secrets of a household was to invite public scorn, and due to his inability to produce promised evidence, Whicher found himself the object of public ridicule. Now if the story had stopped there, it still would have been quite good, but it does not. Summerscale has done a tremendous amount of research into not only this case, but its aftermath in terms of Victorian society, detective fiction, policing at the time, and the sensitivities of the Victorian psyche in matters public. Summerscale has done her homework -- after finishing the book, I went through the notes and discovered that she had used a wealth of primary and secondary sources to put together this work. I can appreciate all of the research that went into the book, having done a post-graduate degree in history myself. Yet it is not just a history or a social commentary; the book flows very well, making it very readable and accessible. Personally, I love this period of time, and I have this thing about true crime of the Victorian era, especially when it comes to stories about murderesses.
I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who is interested in the Victorian period, in the beginnings of the detective in real life and in fiction, in true crime through time, or to anyone who just wants to read an incredibly interesting and absorbing story. I took a lot of titles down from her sources for further reading.
Absolutely splendid -- and as it turns out, it wasn't just another detective story, but a story about a detective and the crime that did him in. Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member zibilee
A brutal, seemingly motiveless murder and the attempts of an exceptional detective to solve the crime are the crux of Kate Summerscale's compelling book ,The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher. In the early hours of June 29th, 1860, four year old Saville Kent is horribly slain and stuffed down the hole of
Whicher is the ultimate detective. Able to accurately pinpoint suspects using scant information and relying heavily on his own hunches, he rises through the ranks of law enforcement rapidly, eventually leading the first group of detectives in history. He is the model upon which the first fictional detectives are based, and his prowess and skill are fully highlighted in this book. Throughout the story, Whicher isn't afraid to pose unpopular speculations, and though the public denounces his hypothesis, he steadfastly works to bring the killer to justice. I found him to be a remarkable man whose abilities were far beyond the time in which he lived, far beyond what we even now expect a detective to be.
One of the most intriguing things about this book was the public involvement and mania regarding this case. From the adulation of the detective prototype by the likes of Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe, to the involvement of the public in their mass attendance of the trial, the community's hunger for this case was arresting in it's detail. Many of the townspeople wrote letters speculating who the killer might be; one man even falsely confessed to the crime. It was very ironic that the public at that time was so negatively disposed to the idea of surveillance and detection. The idea that people could be spied upon and that their private homes and their proclivities could be brought into the open was extremely uncomfortable for them to imagine. Many looked upon the detective and his colleagues as unsavory operatives waiting to invade the sanctity of their private lives and abodes. It seemed as though they were eager to find out the secrets of the Kent family while shunning the detection that brought these facts to light. It must have been a fine line to walk for Detective Whicher, whose successes only compounded the community's distrust.
The book was meticulously researched and heavily laden with facts. Not only was I privy to the social customs of the time, but also to other murder investigations, detective literature of the time, and facts about the principal characters' private lives. The book was at once enveloping and confidential, while still being surprising and unconventional. The suspense of the story was meted out in an atypical way, and although it ended in a conundrum that couldn't be solved, it was still very satisfying. The one quibble I had with the book was the tremendous quantity of facts throughout. At times it was a little overwhelming. Later chapters seemed to be balanced better and I began to see that the story may have sacrificed some of its urgency by displacing its factual density. The inclusion of photographs and maps was also an illuminating and welcome touch.
This book was a very rich and intricate look at a crime that may not be familiar to many, but whose implications and originality have forever shaped the way crimes are handled today. An interesting approach to the crime novel and an enlightening picture of times past.
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the outdoor lavatory. Although the family is not liked among the close community, the suspicion falls on the members of the household, including the maids, governesses and the Kents themselves. When the case becomes unsolvable for the local magistrates, Detective-Inspector Jonathan Whicher is dispatched to solve the crime that has so puzzled and horrified the town. What follows are the attempts of a genius detective to solve an unlikely crime. Through missing evidence, hazy claims of madness and adultery, and a public appetite for all the gory details of the murder, Jack Whicher becomes embroiled in the case that ultimately costs him his reputation and public regard.Whicher is the ultimate detective. Able to accurately pinpoint suspects using scant information and relying heavily on his own hunches, he rises through the ranks of law enforcement rapidly, eventually leading the first group of detectives in history. He is the model upon which the first fictional detectives are based, and his prowess and skill are fully highlighted in this book. Throughout the story, Whicher isn't afraid to pose unpopular speculations, and though the public denounces his hypothesis, he steadfastly works to bring the killer to justice. I found him to be a remarkable man whose abilities were far beyond the time in which he lived, far beyond what we even now expect a detective to be.
One of the most intriguing things about this book was the public involvement and mania regarding this case. From the adulation of the detective prototype by the likes of Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe, to the involvement of the public in their mass attendance of the trial, the community's hunger for this case was arresting in it's detail. Many of the townspeople wrote letters speculating who the killer might be; one man even falsely confessed to the crime. It was very ironic that the public at that time was so negatively disposed to the idea of surveillance and detection. The idea that people could be spied upon and that their private homes and their proclivities could be brought into the open was extremely uncomfortable for them to imagine. Many looked upon the detective and his colleagues as unsavory operatives waiting to invade the sanctity of their private lives and abodes. It seemed as though they were eager to find out the secrets of the Kent family while shunning the detection that brought these facts to light. It must have been a fine line to walk for Detective Whicher, whose successes only compounded the community's distrust.
The book was meticulously researched and heavily laden with facts. Not only was I privy to the social customs of the time, but also to other murder investigations, detective literature of the time, and facts about the principal characters' private lives. The book was at once enveloping and confidential, while still being surprising and unconventional. The suspense of the story was meted out in an atypical way, and although it ended in a conundrum that couldn't be solved, it was still very satisfying. The one quibble I had with the book was the tremendous quantity of facts throughout. At times it was a little overwhelming. Later chapters seemed to be balanced better and I began to see that the story may have sacrificed some of its urgency by displacing its factual density. The inclusion of photographs and maps was also an illuminating and welcome touch.
This book was a very rich and intricate look at a crime that may not be familiar to many, but whose implications and originality have forever shaped the way crimes are handled today. An interesting approach to the crime novel and an enlightening picture of times past.
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LibraryThing member kmmt48
The author chronicles the beginning of the detective genre by depicting, in great detail, a gruesome child murder carried out during the 1860's in Victorian England. I agree with some of the other reviewers that the subject gets a bit dry when the author goes into some very minute details or veers
but put all together, the book gives some pretty good insight into the Victorian way of life. If you love the English mysteries and Scotland Yard detective genre you will enjoy the historical research the author presents as to how they all came about. The insight the author presents on Victorian life in the English country house and the relationship with the local villagers is also very enlightening. I enjoyed the book but it did get dull at times.
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off into discussing the involvement of various detective fictionbut put all together, the book gives some pretty good insight into the Victorian way of life. If you love the English mysteries and Scotland Yard detective genre you will enjoy the historical research the author presents as to how they all came about. The insight the author presents on Victorian life in the English country house and the relationship with the local villagers is also very enlightening. I enjoyed the book but it did get dull at times.
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LibraryThing member Wheatland
An excellent documentary study of the Saville Kent murder in England in 1860, and the detective who tried to puzzle it out. The circumstantial evidence pointed to someone within the family, but Detective-Inspector Jonathan Whicher was unable to obtain hard proof or a confession. For this he was
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criticized by the press. This book lays out the case for the unfairness of this judgment: ineptitude and wilful obstruction on the part of local figures were at fault. The world of the characters in this research is as interesting as the details of the case. The reading runs smoothly, and the author is to be congratulated on a fine piece of work. Perhaps a humorous quip here and there would have added a bit of spice. Show Less
LibraryThing member huffward
What a wonderful indictment of public opinion and the media which makes a business of telling people what they want to hear! I do not believe there is anything 'Victorian' about this; it is as true today as it was then. Take all the endless nonsense about Princess Diana's death, for example.
Wicher's suspicions about the murder were essentially correct, and were proved correct a few years later. But unfortunately they were socially unacceptable; so they curtailed his career and brought the entire detective service into disrepute. The unimportance of being right? Absolutely.
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Wicher's suspicions about the murder were essentially correct, and were proved correct a few years later. But unfortunately they were socially unacceptable; so they curtailed his career and brought the entire detective service into disrepute. The unimportance of being right? Absolutely.
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LibraryThing member writestuff
In the early morning hours of June 30, 1860 three year old Saville Kent was abducted from his bed and murdered, his tiny body discovered the next day concealed in the privy, his throat cut ear to ear. The case cast everyone living in the household under suspicion. Samuel Kent (Saville’s father),
The Road Hill Case, as the murder came to be known, not only inflamed the public’s imagination, but it also changed the way detectives were viewed and ushered in a new era of fiction called ’sensation fiction.’
Kate Summerscale’s book is at once a compelling and fascinating look at Victorian England through the lens of a horrific crime. Summerscale examines nineteenth century societal mores, the evolving view of women, sexual awareness, and the role of the news media and literature in shaping views of morality, guilt and innocence.
Victorian women were seen as pure and innocent creatures, prone to hysteria and fits of insanity.
Women were thought to be prone to insanity, whether as a result of suppressed menstruation, a surplus of sexual energy, or the upheavals of puberty. - from The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, page 244 -
In addition, middle class English families had historically found shelter within the walls of their homes. Privacy was rarely interfered with - even when it came to investigating crimes.
Privacy had become the essential attribute of the middle-class Victorian family, and the bourgeoisie acquired an expertise in secrecy (the word ’secretive’ was first recorded in 1853). - from The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, page 109 -
When Whicher concluded that the murder of Saville had been commited by his sixteen year old half sister, and attempted to shore up that conclusion by probing deep within a middle-class family, the public (and press) were reluctant to accept his theory. Whicher was accused of exploiting the privacy of the family and the innocence of a young girl. In accusing a Constance Kent of the brutal crime, Whicher also seemed to be challenging Victorian beliefs.
‘The steps you have taken will be such as to ruin her for life - every hope is gone with regard to this young girl…And where is the evidence? The one fact - and I am ashamed in this land of liberty and justice to refer to it - is the suspicion of Mr. Whicher [...] - from The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, page 154 -
It was almost inconceivable that a respectable girl could be possessed of enough fury and emotion to kill, and enough cool to cover it. The public preferred to believe in the detective’s villainy, to attribute the moral pollution to him. - from The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, page 154 -
I found it interesting to read about the view of the press during the nineteenth century. Not only were they demonized, but later novels based on the Road Hill case and articles which referenced it were thought to be a corrupting influence on those who read them. I am reminded of present day arguments which suggest reading questionable material can damage young minds.
The dizzying expansion of the press in the 1850s prompted worries that readers might be corrupted, infected, inspired by the sex and violence in newspaper articles. The new journalists shared much with the detectives: they were seen alternately as crusaders for truth and as sleazy voyeurs. - from The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, page 106 -
In the early 1860s the emotions aroused by the Road Hill murder went underground, leaving the pages of the press to reappear, disguised and intensified, in the pages of fiction. On 6 July 1861, almost exactly a year after the murder, the first installment of Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret appeared in Robin Goodfellow magazine. - from The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, page 217 -
Many feared that sensation novels were a ‘virus’ that might create the corruption they described, forming a circle of excitement - sexual and violent - that coursed through every stratum of society. - from The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, page 219 -
Summerscale’s writing is clear and probing. Her book does not just look at a sensational crime, but explores the evolution of today’s crime scene investigation, the role of the press in criminal cases, the changing societal mores during the Victorian era, and how real life influenced literature. Wilkie Collins’ classic novel The Moonstone is based in large part on the Road Hill murder case. Although certain facts were altered (ie: the crime was not a murder, but a theft; and splashes of paint replaced splashes of blood), the salient features remained intact (a missing nightdress, a renowned detective, a middle class household whose privacy is invaded, and the focus on a young girl within the home).
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher is a fascinating read for anyone interested in crime solving or mysteries. It will also appeal to those readers who are drawn to Victorian era literature or interested in reading more about the psychology and sociology of the nineteenth century. Summerscales’ detailed text made me eager to read some of the fictional literature she referenced.
Highly recommended.
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the nursemaid Elizabeth Gough, Constance Kent (Saville’s 16 year old half sister), and William Kent (Saville’s 14 year old half brother) were to become the focus of the investigation, along with an odd villager named William Nutt who was the man to locate the child’s body. Within a short period of time Scotland Yard dispatched Detective-Inspector Jonathan (Jack) Whicher to the scene. Whicher, known for his cunning and skill, and embodying all the traits of the ideal Victorian sleuth would later be demonized for his probing investigation.The Road Hill Case, as the murder came to be known, not only inflamed the public’s imagination, but it also changed the way detectives were viewed and ushered in a new era of fiction called ’sensation fiction.’
Kate Summerscale’s book is at once a compelling and fascinating look at Victorian England through the lens of a horrific crime. Summerscale examines nineteenth century societal mores, the evolving view of women, sexual awareness, and the role of the news media and literature in shaping views of morality, guilt and innocence.
Victorian women were seen as pure and innocent creatures, prone to hysteria and fits of insanity.
Women were thought to be prone to insanity, whether as a result of suppressed menstruation, a surplus of sexual energy, or the upheavals of puberty. - from The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, page 244 -
In addition, middle class English families had historically found shelter within the walls of their homes. Privacy was rarely interfered with - even when it came to investigating crimes.
Privacy had become the essential attribute of the middle-class Victorian family, and the bourgeoisie acquired an expertise in secrecy (the word ’secretive’ was first recorded in 1853). - from The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, page 109 -
When Whicher concluded that the murder of Saville had been commited by his sixteen year old half sister, and attempted to shore up that conclusion by probing deep within a middle-class family, the public (and press) were reluctant to accept his theory. Whicher was accused of exploiting the privacy of the family and the innocence of a young girl. In accusing a Constance Kent of the brutal crime, Whicher also seemed to be challenging Victorian beliefs.
‘The steps you have taken will be such as to ruin her for life - every hope is gone with regard to this young girl…And where is the evidence? The one fact - and I am ashamed in this land of liberty and justice to refer to it - is the suspicion of Mr. Whicher [...] - from The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, page 154 -
It was almost inconceivable that a respectable girl could be possessed of enough fury and emotion to kill, and enough cool to cover it. The public preferred to believe in the detective’s villainy, to attribute the moral pollution to him. - from The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, page 154 -
I found it interesting to read about the view of the press during the nineteenth century. Not only were they demonized, but later novels based on the Road Hill case and articles which referenced it were thought to be a corrupting influence on those who read them. I am reminded of present day arguments which suggest reading questionable material can damage young minds.
The dizzying expansion of the press in the 1850s prompted worries that readers might be corrupted, infected, inspired by the sex and violence in newspaper articles. The new journalists shared much with the detectives: they were seen alternately as crusaders for truth and as sleazy voyeurs. - from The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, page 106 -
In the early 1860s the emotions aroused by the Road Hill murder went underground, leaving the pages of the press to reappear, disguised and intensified, in the pages of fiction. On 6 July 1861, almost exactly a year after the murder, the first installment of Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret appeared in Robin Goodfellow magazine. - from The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, page 217 -
Many feared that sensation novels were a ‘virus’ that might create the corruption they described, forming a circle of excitement - sexual and violent - that coursed through every stratum of society. - from The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, page 219 -
Summerscale’s writing is clear and probing. Her book does not just look at a sensational crime, but explores the evolution of today’s crime scene investigation, the role of the press in criminal cases, the changing societal mores during the Victorian era, and how real life influenced literature. Wilkie Collins’ classic novel The Moonstone is based in large part on the Road Hill murder case. Although certain facts were altered (ie: the crime was not a murder, but a theft; and splashes of paint replaced splashes of blood), the salient features remained intact (a missing nightdress, a renowned detective, a middle class household whose privacy is invaded, and the focus on a young girl within the home).
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher is a fascinating read for anyone interested in crime solving or mysteries. It will also appeal to those readers who are drawn to Victorian era literature or interested in reading more about the psychology and sociology of the nineteenth century. Summerscales’ detailed text made me eager to read some of the fictional literature she referenced.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member brokenangelkisses
This is a book that has been heaped in critical praise. It was short listed for the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger and won the Samuel Jonson prize for non-fiction. Regrettably, I failed to like it. I say regrettably because Summerscale has clearly worked hard at her research and because
The context
In 1860 the brutal murder of a 3 year old boy at a wealthy middle class residence (Road Hill House) shocked and worried Britain. The reasons for its resonance were many but a central feature of the case was the certainty that a member of the household had committed the murder. The idea that a murderer could be a trusted insider rather than an evil outsider was horrifying and almost every member of the household came under suspicion as the investigation progressed. After the local police made a bit of a botched job of solving the crime, a respected detective was sent in to discover the culprit. His investigation was ultimately fruitless, although he was certain he had identified the right culprit. It was many years before the murderer confessed, and even then the public were not satisfied that the truth had been uncovered. Many felt that the confession was a ruse to deflect suspicion from the ‘real’ murderer (including Charles Dickens) and the famous case continued to be a subject of speculation.
My thoughts
The book is promoted as a murder mystery with a genuine historical crime at its heart. Summerscale states that her aim is to create a story with factual content; the trouble is that the sheer weight of fact detracts from the content. From the beginning, the author includes a wealth of unnecessary information. We are told the precise cost of the two rail tickets that the detective purchases on his way to Somerset and the precise times of his journey. In-between these two fascinating nuggets of information we are told about a painting at the railway station, an arrest Whicher had made there, the public impression of detectives, Dickens’ description of them, mystery books you can buy and even a long quotation from one. This is in the prologue and whilst it doesn’t clearly set up any particular area or storyline (surely the point of a prologue) its meandering style epitomises the entire book.
Summerscale has clearly completed mountains of research and shoehorned it all into the book. Some of it is interesting, some of it is dull, but it is all rather higgledy piggeldy. She begins to recount the circumstances of the murder which is supposedly at the centre of the book, but every time a new character is introduced we are given his or her full back-story, whether or not they ever reappear in the book. This makes progress rather slow and the whole book unwieldy. Summerscale tries to use the murder as a central point for exploring the public’s perception of detectives, the etymology of some detective terminology, the representation of this new species of policeman in the media and literature of the day, the nature of the class system and class antagonism. In short, she tries to do an awful lot in one book. Perhaps this would have been achievable if she had organised the book by themes rather than (loosely) chronologically, but I had the feeling that there was simply too much material and not enough effort had been made to organise it. All of these avenues are potentially interesting and fruitful, but the narrative drifts from subject to subject and the book has no real core.
The murder mystery element, which is a key feature of how the book is sold, recedes into the background for large stretches of the text, which is frustrating at points as you either really want to know what happens next or just give up caring. Because of all the shifting and detailed development of minor points the pace is very slow and I found the reading process was never compelling. Again, I must stress that many of the related aspects that Sumerscale touches on, such as common perceptions of women’s susceptibility to madness – had the potential to be fascinating. It was the sheer wealth of disconnected detail and flitting from subject to subject that I found rather tiring.
The representation of the detective in this era, as the idea was just coming to life, is an interesting topic and I did enjoy reading about the way they were condemned as middle class busybodies poking their noses into respectable private people’s affairs. I understood the references to Dickens and Wilkie Collins and found that tidbits relating to their opinions and books were intriguing. I would like to read more on this topic as a result of reading this book, but I would want a more organised work.
The book is fully referenced and contains floorplans, a family tree, a list of characters and a note on money to help readers follow the intricate details of the investigation. I did find these were useful. The introduction gave a clear overview of the main topic(s) Summerscale was going to discuss and established the significance of the case. I found the prologue and afterword as disorganised as the rest of the book and did not feel that they added much, but they were short and did not take long to read, which meant that it didn’t really bother me.
The brutal crime is somehow ignored for most of the book as the murder does seem to be an excuse to examine society via one English household. It is shocking at the end to read a discussion of how the boy might have fought his attacker and the reminder of the victim seems an odd way to conclude a book that has mostly ignored him and focused on social history.
After a rather dull middle section which examines the years after the murder, the conclusions Summerscale reaches are interesting. She suggests her own solution to the who-dunnit and supports it with a range of evidence. I found this final section the most interesting of the book, although it still felt very padded out. I felt her observations on the role of the detective in fiction were particularly interesting. The tone is very factual and I wouldn’t have minded a little bit more drama, personally, just to create more excitement, but it does make you feel like you are getting a very accurate account. Her writing is straightforward and she expresses ideas clearly.
I would not read this again and I would hesitate to recommend it to others simply because I feel that it is not what it claims to be (a gripping murder mystery). If you would like a kind of history of the detective in life and literature in the 1860s then this could be a good starting point. Ultimately, I wasn’t sure that this was worth the effort.
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it took me quite a long time to read it.The context
In 1860 the brutal murder of a 3 year old boy at a wealthy middle class residence (Road Hill House) shocked and worried Britain. The reasons for its resonance were many but a central feature of the case was the certainty that a member of the household had committed the murder. The idea that a murderer could be a trusted insider rather than an evil outsider was horrifying and almost every member of the household came under suspicion as the investigation progressed. After the local police made a bit of a botched job of solving the crime, a respected detective was sent in to discover the culprit. His investigation was ultimately fruitless, although he was certain he had identified the right culprit. It was many years before the murderer confessed, and even then the public were not satisfied that the truth had been uncovered. Many felt that the confession was a ruse to deflect suspicion from the ‘real’ murderer (including Charles Dickens) and the famous case continued to be a subject of speculation.
My thoughts
The book is promoted as a murder mystery with a genuine historical crime at its heart. Summerscale states that her aim is to create a story with factual content; the trouble is that the sheer weight of fact detracts from the content. From the beginning, the author includes a wealth of unnecessary information. We are told the precise cost of the two rail tickets that the detective purchases on his way to Somerset and the precise times of his journey. In-between these two fascinating nuggets of information we are told about a painting at the railway station, an arrest Whicher had made there, the public impression of detectives, Dickens’ description of them, mystery books you can buy and even a long quotation from one. This is in the prologue and whilst it doesn’t clearly set up any particular area or storyline (surely the point of a prologue) its meandering style epitomises the entire book.
Summerscale has clearly completed mountains of research and shoehorned it all into the book. Some of it is interesting, some of it is dull, but it is all rather higgledy piggeldy. She begins to recount the circumstances of the murder which is supposedly at the centre of the book, but every time a new character is introduced we are given his or her full back-story, whether or not they ever reappear in the book. This makes progress rather slow and the whole book unwieldy. Summerscale tries to use the murder as a central point for exploring the public’s perception of detectives, the etymology of some detective terminology, the representation of this new species of policeman in the media and literature of the day, the nature of the class system and class antagonism. In short, she tries to do an awful lot in one book. Perhaps this would have been achievable if she had organised the book by themes rather than (loosely) chronologically, but I had the feeling that there was simply too much material and not enough effort had been made to organise it. All of these avenues are potentially interesting and fruitful, but the narrative drifts from subject to subject and the book has no real core.
The murder mystery element, which is a key feature of how the book is sold, recedes into the background for large stretches of the text, which is frustrating at points as you either really want to know what happens next or just give up caring. Because of all the shifting and detailed development of minor points the pace is very slow and I found the reading process was never compelling. Again, I must stress that many of the related aspects that Sumerscale touches on, such as common perceptions of women’s susceptibility to madness – had the potential to be fascinating. It was the sheer wealth of disconnected detail and flitting from subject to subject that I found rather tiring.
The representation of the detective in this era, as the idea was just coming to life, is an interesting topic and I did enjoy reading about the way they were condemned as middle class busybodies poking their noses into respectable private people’s affairs. I understood the references to Dickens and Wilkie Collins and found that tidbits relating to their opinions and books were intriguing. I would like to read more on this topic as a result of reading this book, but I would want a more organised work.
The book is fully referenced and contains floorplans, a family tree, a list of characters and a note on money to help readers follow the intricate details of the investigation. I did find these were useful. The introduction gave a clear overview of the main topic(s) Summerscale was going to discuss and established the significance of the case. I found the prologue and afterword as disorganised as the rest of the book and did not feel that they added much, but they were short and did not take long to read, which meant that it didn’t really bother me.
The brutal crime is somehow ignored for most of the book as the murder does seem to be an excuse to examine society via one English household. It is shocking at the end to read a discussion of how the boy might have fought his attacker and the reminder of the victim seems an odd way to conclude a book that has mostly ignored him and focused on social history.
After a rather dull middle section which examines the years after the murder, the conclusions Summerscale reaches are interesting. She suggests her own solution to the who-dunnit and supports it with a range of evidence. I found this final section the most interesting of the book, although it still felt very padded out. I felt her observations on the role of the detective in fiction were particularly interesting. The tone is very factual and I wouldn’t have minded a little bit more drama, personally, just to create more excitement, but it does make you feel like you are getting a very accurate account. Her writing is straightforward and she expresses ideas clearly.
I would not read this again and I would hesitate to recommend it to others simply because I feel that it is not what it claims to be (a gripping murder mystery). If you would like a kind of history of the detective in life and literature in the 1860s then this could be a good starting point. Ultimately, I wasn’t sure that this was worth the effort.
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LibraryThing member phyllis2779
Slow going. Somewhat disappointed. The subject was interesting but the book reminded me of academic papers. The subject was very interesting but the author repetitiously added examples of how this murder inspired the dtective/mystery genre, which slowed down the narrative.
Awards
Edgar Award (Nominee — Fact Crime — 2009)
Anthony Award (Nominee — 2009)
Crime Writers' Association Awards (Shortlist — 2008)
Macavity Award (Nominee — Non-Fiction — 2009)
Agatha Award (Nominee — Non-Fiction — 2008)
Salon Book Award (2008)
British Book Award (Winner — Book of the Year — 2009)
Independent Booksellers' Book Prize (Shortlist — 2009)
Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction (Winner — 2008)
Language
Original publication date
2008
Physical description
360 p.; 21 cm
ISBN
9780747582151
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DDC/MDS
| 364.1523094231 |