The Invention of Murder - Carson's Storytime

Paperback, 576 pages

Published July 15, 2014 by St. Martin's Griffin.

ISBN:: 978-1-250-04853-0

(1 review)

In this exploration of murder in the nineteenth century, Judith Flanders explores some of the most gripping cases that fascinated the Victorians and gave rise to the first detective fiction. She retells the gruesome stories of many different types of murder--both famous and obscure--from the crimes (and myths) of Sweeney Todd and Jack the Ripper to the tragedies of the murdered Marr family in London's East End; Burke and Hare and their bodysnatching business in Edinburgh; and Greenacre, who transported his dismembered fiancee around town by omnibus. With an irresistible cast of swindlers, forgers, and poisoners, the mad, the bad and the dangerous to know, "The Invention of Murder" is both a gripping tale of crime and punishment, and history at its most readable.

6 editions

eishiya reviewed The invention of murder by Judith Flanders

The reality and fiction of 19th century murder

3 stars

Working gradually through the 19th century from its late Georgian start to its end, The Invention of Murder covers several well-known and a few lesser-known murders, the social context in which they occurred, and the lasting effect they had on newspapers, theatre, and literature. Writers revelled in certain incidents and largely ignored others that at a glance seem no less interesting, and Judith Flanders examines the context and proposes plausible reasons for the differences.

There's so much information in this book that it can be overwhelming. Although it's interesting to read about how many fictional stories borrowed elements from the relatively small number of real murders of the time, it can get rather repetitive. I read this book a "case" at a time, that is, an incident (or series of incidents) followed by its influence, and even in smaller chunks like this, there was more than I could really process …

Working gradually through the 19th century from its late Georgian start to its end, The Invention of Murder covers several well-known and a few lesser-known murders, the social context in which they occurred, and the lasting effect they had on newspapers, theatre, and literature. Writers revelled in certain incidents and largely ignored others that at a glance seem no less interesting, and Judith Flanders examines the context and proposes plausible reasons for the differences.

There's so much information in this book that it can be overwhelming. Although it's interesting to read about how many fictional stories borrowed elements from the relatively small number of real murders of the time, it can get rather repetitive. I read this book a "case" at a time, that is, an incident (or series of incidents) followed by its influence, and even in smaller chunks like this, there was more than I could really process adequately. The author's knowledge of the surviving (and even non-surviving!) literature of the period is impressive, and I am glad that this book collates the real-life influences on it, but, perhaps inevitably, it doesn't make for the best reading experience. Fortunately, the footnotes provide some nice and occasionally humorous asides that helped keep my brain from frying.

Although The Invention of Murder focuses on the impact of each case it covers, there's still enough detail about the particular of each stabbing, suffocation, poisoning, etc, and the court cases that usually followed that your enjoyment of the book will likely depend on whether you enjoy (historical) true crime stories. The incompetence of the press, the police, and the legal profession is an undercurrent throughout the book, and adds some much-needed levity, at least if you're willing to set aside how much pain this incompetence likely caused at the time.

I found the "Panic" chapter particularly interesting. Though it starts off about the mid-century poison panic, but owing to the rarity of such murders in reality most of it is about incidents involving servants as victims or as perpetrators. Cutting across class lines as they did, these cases were particularly divisive and exposed class prejudices in the press and in subsequent fiction. It got my brain churning on my own stories, a rare treat.

The book was so full of interesting cases that by the time I got to the final chapter, which is about Jack the Ripper, I'd forgotten that that was even a relevant topic. Though it can be overwhelming, I do recommend this book to those writing about the Victorian period. If your story concerns murder, I think you'll find a lot of useful information here. If not, it's still be worth a read to fill out your knowledge of the time, as true and fictional tales of murder were hard to get away from in this period, even if murders themselves were rare.