Mention Books To The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective
| Original Title: | The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective |
| ISBN: | 0802715354 (ISBN13: 9780802715357) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Constance Emilie Kent, Francis Savile Kent, Detective Jonathan Whicher |
| Setting: | Rode, Somerset, England,1860(United Kingdom) |
| Literary Awards: | Macavity Award Nominee for Best Nonfiction/Critical (2009), Anthony Award Nominee for Best Critical Nonfiction (2009), Agatha Award Nominee for Best Nonfiction (2008), Galaxy British Book Awards for Book of the Year (2009), Edgar Award Nominee for Best Fact Crime (2009) Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction (2008) |
Identify Of Books The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective
| Title | : | The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective |
| Author | : | Kate Summerscale |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 360 pages |
| Published | : | April 27th 2020 by Walker & Company |
| Categories | : | Nonfiction. History. Crime. True Crime. Mystery. Historical. Victorian |
Commentary Toward Books The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective
The dramatic story of the real-life murder that inspired the birth of modern detective fiction.
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, as Kate Summerscale relates in her scintillating new book, 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 Sgt. 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 Kate Summerscale has fashioned a brilliant, multilayered narrative that is as cleverly constructed as it is beautifully written.
Rating Of Books The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective
Ratings: 3.45 From 18085 Users | 1983 ReviewsAssessment Of Books The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective
This book really went beyond what I was expecting from it. Aside from re-telling the mystery of a 3 year old's murder, the author also delved into the life and thoughts of one of the first and greatest dectectives, Mr. Whicher. Since I had never heard of this detective or this murder before, it was shocking to realize how many famous books were so greatly influenced by the story. For instance, Dickens was highly interested in this case, and Lady Audley's Secret was quite heavily based upon theThere don't seem to be many glowing reviews of this book on Goodreads, which I can totally understand. Yes, Summerscale gives us way, way too much extra background information on everything, her attempt to connect Detective Whicher to every single literary detective that has ever been is weak at the best of times, and the book's content doesn't pack quite the sensational punch its title promises. Those are the book's flaws. I acknowledge their existence, and will now proceed to completely
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale is an account of a real Victorian murder mystery investigated by Jack Whicher, one of the first nine Scotland Yard detectives. In an upper middle class country home, a terrible murder occurred. Three-year-old Saville Kent was discovered dead in a privvy, his throat slashed. A drawing room window had been found open, but it quickly became apparent that no maurading stranger had broken in and committed the dire deed---only one of the family could
3.5 stars!Considering I'm quite local to the area near where this happened in 1860, I had no idea about this shocking real-life murder until I found a copy of this book in a charity shop. A young three-year-old boy is found slain outside the family home and fingers get pointed around various occupants including the victim's older siblings and the servants. Although I liked how accurate the geography was, the pacing was very slow-going. Most of the characters I wasn't keen on, due to their
The crime shocked all of England. Three year old Saville Kent, son of the second family of a well to do British Government Official was found murdered, his small body stuffed in an outdoor privy. This was the infamous Road Hill murder and the man who lead the investigation was Mr. Jonathan Whicher. The story filled the tabloids of the time and was discussed everywhere from pulpits to the halls of Power. The unhappy events inspired not only modern forensic investigative methods but also open up a
Terrific review, Peter. Wasn't aware of this one before but now I am highly intrigued. Poaching this one for Mount TBR
I absolutely loved this - a fascinating, gripping read, so full of detail and intrigue, and so well written. A real new favourite non-fiction - I would highly recommend.
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