Murder by the Book
The Crime That Shocked Dickens's London
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
"Enthralling . . . A page-turner that can hold its own with any one of the many murder-minded podcasts out there."
—Jezebel
From the acclaimed biographer--the fascinating, little-known story of a Victorian-era murder that rocked literary London, leading Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, and Queen Victoria herself to wonder: Can a novel kill?
In May 1840, Lord William Russell, well known in London's highest social circles, was found with his throat cut. The brutal murder had the whole city talking. The police suspected Russell's valet, Courvoisier, but the evidence was weak. The missing clue, it turned out, lay in the unlikeliest place: what Courvoisier had been reading. In the years just before the murder, new printing methods had made books cheap and abundant, the novel form was on the rise, and suddenly everyone was reading. The best-selling titles were the most sensational true-crime stories. Even Dickens and Thackeray, both at the beginning of their careers, fell under the spell of these tales--Dickens publicly admiring them, Thackeray rejecting them. One such phenomenon was William Harrison Ainsworth's Jack Sheppard, the story of an unrepentant criminal who escaped the gallows time and again. When Lord William's murderer finally confessed his guilt, he would cite this novel in his defense. Murder By the Book combines this thrilling true-crime story with an illuminating account of the rise of the novel form and the battle for its early soul among the most famous writers of the time. It is superbly researched, vividly written, and captivating from first to last.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This history of the shadowy netherworld of Victorian England offers a deliciously grisly look at the intersections between art, life, and crime. In 1840, during the heyday of Dickens serials and penny dreadfuls, the relative of a government official was brutally murdered in his bedroom, triggering panic and lurid fascination. Claire Harman explores how efforts to find the culprit sparked class conflict and fueled interest (and disgust) in populist literature—the gorier, the better. Whether you’re a book nerd, history buff, or fan of the macabre, this true-crime story will have you completely transfixed.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Biographer Harman (Charlotte Bront : A Fiery Heart) effectively uses a novelist's approach to recreate a now obscure 1840 English murder case that was a sensation at the time. Lord William Russell, uncle to the secretary of state for the colonies, was found in the bedroom of his London home with his throat slit. But while the wound was horrific, almost severing Lord Russell's head, oddly there were no bloodstains anywhere besides the bed. The crime panicked the upper classes, who wondered, if the victim had not been "safe in his bed, in the most exclusive and privileged residential enclave" in England, who was? Although some household items were missing, the evidence of theft was equivocal, leading the affluent to fear that the murder may have been motivated by underclass hatred of the privileged. The police focused on the theory that the killer was a servant, and charged Lord William's new valet, Fran ois Courvoisier, who eventually confessed to his attorneys and was executed after a trial. By exploring concerns about the glorification of criminals in the fiction of the day and addressing some lingering mysteries, such as whether Courvoisier had an accomplice, Harman adds depth to a fascinating true crime narrative.
