Family Skeletons - Ruth Paley and Simon Fowler

I bought this book because it caught my eye in a cut price book shop. It has a very striking cover with a montage of photographs of Victorian criminals. I had seen a review for this book in one of my family history magazines some months before, it sounded fascinating but the cover price of £19.99 put me off. I have been tracing my family history for a number of years and it has encouraged me to find out more about British social history. I haven't discovered any criminal ancestors yet, but I have found a Victorian policeman in my family tree, so this book was of particular interest to me. It covers everything from murder to petty offences and it was fascinating to read about the treatment of issues that would not be considered crimes today e.g. suicide, homosexuality and witchcraft. The book deals with child criminals as well as adults and there are plenty of case histories. I think the book is very well set out and it is easy to find information, I liked being able to dip into the book and to read whichever part took my fancy rather than reading the book from beginning to end in the usual way. I enjoyed the book very much, I would have preferred it to have a printed cover rather than a dust jacket because it would have made the book easier to handle, but in every other way I found that it was a well planned and interesting book. My only complaint is that it was far too expensive at £19.99, I would not have bought it at that price in fact I would have thought twice if it was £9.99, but I was delighted to find it in the cut price book shop for £2.99!

The Suspicions of Mr Whicher by Kate Summerscale

This book was serialised on the radio and by chance I caught the first installment and I was so taken with it that I had to buy the book. It looks at the investigation of a brutal country house murder of a three year old boy in 1860. The author had access to the original police documents which are held in the national archives and she was able to follow the suspicions and enquiries of Jack Whicher of Scotland Yard who was brought in to solve the murder. The author presents the account in the way that events unfolded at the time, she creates tension and atmosphere as it becomes clear that one of the occupants of the house must have killed the boy, perhaps one of his parents or even a sibling? It is interesting to find out how the press and the public responded at the time and it provides a snapshot of 1860 attitudes and social history. Jack Whicher did not solve the murder and it his career was damaged by his failure. Subsequently there was a conviction but was the real murderer ever caught? This is a facinating book and a very good read.