num_pages: 556
description: In this fascinating exploration of murder in nineteenth century England Judith Flanders examines some of the most gripping cases that captivated the Victorians and gave rise to the first detective fictionMurder in the nineteenth century was rare. But murder as sensation and entertainment became ubiquitous with cold-blooded killings transformed into novels broadsides ballads opera and melodramaeven into puppet shows and performing dog-acts. Detective fiction and the new police force developed in parallel each imitating the otherthe founders of Scotland Yard gave rise to Dickens's Inspector Bucket the first fictional police detective who in turn influenced Sherlock Holmes and ultimately even P.D. James and Patricia Cornwell.In this meticulously researched and engrossing book Judith Flanders retells the gruesome stories of many different types of murder both famous and obscure: from Greenacre who transported his dismembered fiance around town by omnibus to Burke and Hares bodysnatching business in Edinburgh; from the crimes (and myths) of Sweeney Todd and Jack the Ripper to the tragedy of the murdered Marr family in Londons East End.Through these stories of murderfrom the brutal to the patheticFlanders builds a rich and multi-faceted portrait of Victorian society in Great Britain. With an irresistible cast of swindlers forgers and poisoners the mad the bad and the utterly dangerous The Invention of Murder is both a mesmerizing tale of crime and punishment and history at its most readable.
language: English
title: The Invention of Murder: How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime
publisher: Thomas Dunne Books