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The Invention of Murder

How the Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime

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The Invention of Murder

By: Judith Flanders
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About this listen

A deeply engaging and completely original book about nineteenth-century Britain’s fascination with good quality murder.

Murder in nineteenth-century Britain was ubiquitous – not necessarily in quantity but in quality. This was the era of penny-bloods, early crime fiction and melodramas for the masses. This was a time when murder and entertainment were firmly entwined.

In this meticulously researched and compelling book, Judith Flanders, author of Consuming Passions, takes us back in time to explore some of the most gripping, gruesome and mind-boggling murders of the nineteenth-century. Covering the crimes (and myths) of Sweeney Todd and Jack the Ripper, as well as the lesser known but equally shocking acts of Burke and Hare, and Thurtell and Hunt, Flanders looks at how murder was regarded by the wider British population – and how it became a form of popular entertainment.

Filled to the brim with rich source material – ranging from studies of plays, novels and contemporary newspaper articles, A Social History of Murder brings to life a neglected dimension of British social history in a completely new and exciting way.

 19th Century Crime Europe Great Britain Modern Murder True Crime

Critic reviews

Praise for Consuming Passions:

‘“Consuming Passions” tells the story of Victorian leisure and pleasure as an interrelated and intricate set of transformations…no single book could bind so complex and vast a field within a single theory…(it) leads its crocodile of readers on an eccentric, meandering path through the question of how Victorians took pleasure…its pursuit proves a fascinating, bewildering, marvel-crammed quest.’ Guardian

‘It is a world explored with much wit and insight…Flanders is excellent…It’s a rich mix [and]…fluently written…It has every chance of becoming a bestseller.’ Sunday Telegraph

‘Formidable…[an] excellent study…a major achievement.’ Observer
All stars
Most relevant
An interesting look at the Victorian period and the murders of the day. The author manages to get the murders across with out resorting to shock tactics and the links to the everyday world of the time make it more enjoyable.

The conclusion seems a bit rushed at the end but we can't have everything.

Good but not gruesome

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I read this book beforehand and thoroughly enjoyed it. I looked forward to listening... This is the second and last book I will download that is narrated by Anna Bentinck. Her narration is rather insipid at the best of times but it becomes especially unbearable when dialogue is involved. She appears to believe that she is a master of accents and voices; she is not. Her forays into regionality are at best unnecessary, mostly distracting, sometimes toe-curling. I'm glad I had read it first...

Good story, shame about delivery

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This is a competently read version of the bestselling book. It is essentially a string of tales recounting murders and their treatment in the media during the Victorian era, some familiar (Murder in the Red Barn, Jack the Ripper).

Its strength lies in it's episodic nature allowing the listener to dip in and out without losing the thread.

Murder Tales

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My favorite listen yet. Judith Flanders seamlessly meshes literature, theatre, history and crime - all in fascinating detail and with a tongue in cheek humour which is delightful. Lose yourself in the dark psyche of nineteenth century Britain, wonderfully brought to life in the melodious voice of Janice McKenzie. I never tire of listening to it.

Utterly absorbing

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This book is well-researched and full of 'true-life' crimes! It manages to bring to life a by-gone age where people were just like us full of jealousy, love, spite and greed but where people had a profoundly different mind-set concerning attitudes to crime. The author explains this very well especially in the writing on infanticide. By focusing on this one aspect of life the author brings to life a much broader spectrum of life in Victorian times. Indirectly it also shows the 'development' of the gutter press.

From the gutter to the gallows

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