The Penguin Book of Gaslight Crime: Con Artists, Burglars, Rogues, and Scoundrels from the Time o...
An exclusive collection-the first- ever gathering of rogues from the gaslight era
collected here for the first time: the best crime ... read full description
collected here for the first time: the best crime ... read full description
reviews
Feb 10, 2012
Jacob
rated it: 
Forget Sherlock Holmes, if you can--Victorian literature produced some great criminals as well! A. J. Raffles, Get-Rich-Quick Wallingford, Simon Carne, Captain Gault, and many other scoundrels and ruffians tried their luck on the other side of the law, and many managed to make a very dishonest living out of it. American millionaires, watch out! English lords, lock up your paintings! Ladies everywhere, keep an eye on those diamonds!
I recently read all the Sherlock Holmes stories More...
I recently read all the Sherlock Holmes stories More...
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(15 people liked it)
Dec 28, 2009
Steve
rated it: 
Sims has done an amazing job assembling these stories of criminal capers from the gaslight era (love the cover, with the gloved gent's hand in the act of swiping the Penguin logo). The introductions are informative, inspiring and invaluable.
Fascinating to see this vein of fiction that arose in response to the glittering wealth of the Gilded Age (many of the rich people in these stories are Americans). But Victorian charm isn't quite enough to sustain the collection. And it may have be More...
Fascinating to see this vein of fiction that arose in response to the glittering wealth of the Gilded Age (many of the rich people in these stories are Americans). But Victorian charm isn't quite enough to sustain the collection. And it may have be More...
May 25, 2011
q
rated it: 
Dull plots, dull criminals, dull victims, dull stories. Part of the conceit of this collection is that it shouldn't contain any violence, only (supposedly) very clever criminals fleecing the rich. The rich here consist mainly of American businessmen and European aristocracy. The most interesting thing about the collection is the portrayal of those classes as easily-hoodwinked clowns in popular entertainment. Almost too boring for bathroom reading, but so thin I did make it through all the st
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Aug 10, 2011
Bev
rated it:
Pretty good. Although the intro says something about these being little known & mostly uncollected and I've read several of these short stories before. Also...I must be too law-abiding; I much prefer being on the side of Sherlock Holmes to Raffles. Three and a half stars.
Feb 16, 2010
Maren
rated it: 
This is a fantastic anthology of short crime fiction from the era of Sherlock Holmes. What makes the stories unique is that they are from the perspective of the criminals. A nice introduction to other authors of the era who may be less well known than Conan Doyle.
Oct 04, 2009
Americanogig
rated it:
Great little book on crime fiction from the turn of last century through the 20s. No murders and most of the criminals are anti-heroic, Robin Hood types. Very amusing and lots of twist-turns to keep you interested. The atmosphere in each story was exceptional!
Dec 20, 2009
Casey
rated it:
A nice collection of very short stories from a by-gone era. Great for a quick read that won't excite you too much.
Aug 14, 2009
Catherine
rated it:
The subtitled describes it best. Victorian and Edwardian and diverting, though necessarily fluffy.
Oct 25, 2009
Jon
rated it:
I am still in the middle of this one. It involves gaslight era detective stories, i.e. ones that take both take place in and evoke the atmosphere of the time of Sherlock Holmes, but from the point of view of the criminals instead of the detectives. It's not bad, but I prefer to root for the detectives. I am not sure if I will finish this one, as I started a new Lord Peter Wimsey that I like much better.
May 18, 2010
Emily
rated it:
Great little book of turn of the century crime fiction. Not only are there light (but not cozy!) crime fics, but there's some humor and twists as well. What really stood out for me in this anthology were the author introductions -- all too often in anthologies they just get to the short stories and you're on your own. Each story here had a little author bio with sidenotes, connections, and information about their other works.
Feb 08, 2012
I enjoyed the same editor's Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime, but I can't say I was a huge fan of these stories; the rogues are not nearly roguish enough.
Jun 17, 2010
Emily
rated it:
It is always interesting to contrast similar styles of stories from the same period of time and these are an amusing little set of Victorian crime stories.
I find however, that I prefer to be on the detective side of the story than the criminal.
I find however, that I prefer to be on the detective side of the story than the criminal.
Aug 09, 2010
Andy
rated it:
I'm currently working my way through this really fun collection of Victorian/Edwardian crime stories, replete with rogues, scoundrels and even one or two rascals. Huzzah!
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