The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective

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The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective

3.38 of 5 stars 3.38 · rating details · 7,339 ratings · 1,117 reviews

In June of 1860 three-year-old Saville Kent was found at the bottom of an outdoor privy with his throat slit. The suspicion that fell upon the grieving family and their servants horrified the public; the thought of what might go on behind the closed doors of respectable middle-class Victorian homes - scheming governesses, rebellious children, insanity, jealousy, and loathi

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Paperback, 372 pages

Published February 24th 2009 by Walker & Company (first published 2008)

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Apr 26, 2013 Lance Greenfield Mitchell rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Superb historical documentary of police detectives

This is an amazing book. Rarely have I read a book which has been so meticulously researched. There is an unbelievable amount of detail about the origins of official police detective work, the personalities involved, the journalism of the mid-nineteenth century, the Kent family of Road, the famous and not-so-famous people of that time, and the continuing history of the characters involved into the twentieth century.

So, if I think that this book's...more

8 likes · like · see review

Oct 17, 2008 Carrie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So disappointing! I was hoping for another "Devil in the White City" but, what I got was "Devil in the over researched, meandering, dull city." Poor Mr. Whicher. From the beginning we are promised a story about this interesting man and the case that brought him down. This was a man who influenced all the famous literary detectives from Sherlock Holmes to Philip Marlowe. But, we never got to know him. He never had a voice. And frankly, the guy on the page would have a hard time influencing anythi...more

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May 09, 2008 Heidi rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm so disappointed in this book. I happened upon it at the library and thought it looked fantastic. Who doesn't love a Victorian murder mystery?

YET, it was much less riveting than my beloved Death at the Priory. It was impossible not to compare the two Victorian murders and Death at the Priory wins hands down. The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher was dry as dust and spent far too much time comparing the historical person, Mr. Whicher, with the development of the burgeoning genre of detective novels l...more

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Jun 25, 2009 Daniel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: first-edition, 2009

It's a bit hard to understand all the acclaim "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher" has received. A recounting of the murder of a three-year-old English boy in 1860 as well as an exploration of the killing's impact on detective work both real and fictional, the book certainly isn't terrible but does suffer from being something of a data dump for the author.

It seems Kate Summerscale felt a need to give us every niggling detail she was able to dig up about the murder, its coverage by the press at the ti...more It's a bit hard to understand all the acclaim "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher" has received. A recounting of the murder of a three-year-old English boy in 1860 as well as an exploration of the killing's impact on detective work both real and fictional, the book certainly isn't terrible but does suffer from being something of a data dump for the author.

It seems Kate Summerscale felt a need to give us every niggling detail she was able to dig up about the murder, its coverage by the press at the time, and the family history of each of the case's principles. She also not only ties in every famous piece of literature loosely connected to the case -- the Sherlock Holmes stories, Wilkie Collins's "The Moonstone," Henry James's "The Turn of the Screw," and Charles Dickens's "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" among them -- but also gives readers the etymology of myriad detective terms, from "clue" and "red herring" to "sleuth" and "hunch."

None of this is bad in and of itself. Summerscale clearly intends to use the investigation of Saville Kent's murder as a starting point to discuss the rise of the modern detective and the development of the mystery novel. The problem is that her analysis of the subject is relatively shallow. There's almost nothing here that someone with a rudimentary knowledge of the history of detective fiction and police work would be surprised by. One comes away with the feeling that Summerscale really wanted to write about only the Kent case itself, found herself with too little material, and ended up padding the story with anything tenuously connected to the crime.

Another problem with the book is the title character, Jonathan Whicher himself. So little is known about the detective beyond his involvement in the Kent investigation -- it's not clear whether or not he had a son, for instance, and Summerscale is left guessing what earlier cases he might have worked on -- that it seems a miscalculation to put the weight of the book on his shoulders. The crime, too, is not quite enough to carry the book. Sure, the murder of a three-year-old would always be shocking, and was probably even more so in its day. But the victim, being a three-year-old, is by definition a less-than-fascinating character. Don't the best murder mysteries -- and Summerscale herself says at the outset that she's hoping to recreate a murder mystery with this book -- have the most intriguing victims?

All criticisms aside, and I realize I've heaped a lot on "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher," the book is obviously thoroughly researched -- arguably too well-researched -- and Summerscale's prose is clear, straightforward and free of unnecessary ornamentation. The book doesn't invite loathing, certainly, but is quite a slog to get through. And the reader isn't left feeling it was much worth the effort.(less)

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Mar 26, 2013 Anita Dalton rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-we-own, non-fiction, true-crime

I had such high hopes for this book because all the reviews said that Summerscale had new information and discovered the true killer in the Victorian Age murder of Saville Kent. Well, that's not true. Not at all.

I suspect part of the problem is that as a former true crime aficionado I knew everything Summerscale wrote about in this book. Some of the detail from the maids was new, but for the most part there was nothing new in this book for me, down to the lay out of the house to the man who foun...more

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Jan 20, 2009 Becki rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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 the m...more

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Aug 17, 2008 Sharon rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who loves detective novels and true crime

Recommended to Sharon by: The free flyer at Books-A-Million

Shelves: history

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...more

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May 18, 2008 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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...more

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Dec 27, 2008 Fiona rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-loved

If you like 19th century British novels...
If you like detective novels...
If you are interested in the development of the novel...
If you have any interest in the development of the science of forensics...
If you like true crime...
If you enjoy good factual writing...
If you like a good story...

... then this book has it all. It's like the author asked me to write a list of all the things I like to read most, shook them up in a shaker and came out with the perfect book.

I drove my husband nuts while I...more

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Sep 23, 2009 Kasia rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audio, non-fiction, true-crime

So it wasn't totally bad, but it never lived up to its hype either. The whoddunit part of the story was quite suspenceful, and even before that, the setup where you're introduced to this odd Victorian family, and you know something bad is about to happen (I was picturing a Rosemary's baby scenario leading up to a macare... ) - that part was good.

So here's the deal: the research was thorough, the writing - scientific, unimaginative and drowned in endless details. Not to mention the characters, w...more

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Aug 13, 2008 Deena rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Barb and Christy and Gil

Shelves: nonfiction

I have mixed thoughts about this book and wish I could give 3.5 stars. First of all, it was a thoughtful birthday gift from my husband who knows I love all things criminal and British. I was intrigued by the crime--that lurking demon under Victorian trappings that includes infanticide and child murder more often than even a historian can believe. And the story of the investigation is quite intriguing. Yet, I am not sure if the author nails the tone and sequence she sought. The book rambles in so...more

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Aug 20, 2008 Margaret rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

To me this book reads like somebody’s master’s thesis that was expanded for publication – the style is very dry, there’s a compulsive need to share every single random detail of research, and a particular obsession with how much everyone paid for everything – but it’s an interestingly idiosyncratic prism through which to look at the various hang-ups of Victorian society, in particular the glorification of Home and Family, and their terror of the increasing social mobility among the classes. It f...more To me this book reads like somebody’s master’s thesis that was expanded for publication – the style is very dry, there’s a compulsive need to share every single random detail of research, and a particular obsession with how much everyone paid for everything – but it’s an interestingly idiosyncratic prism through which to look at the various hang-ups of Victorian society, in particular the glorification of Home and Family, and their terror of the increasing social mobility among the classes. It focuses on the high-profile 1860 murder of a child at Road Hill House in Wiltshire, and more specifically on the investigation that followed, the first important one conducted by Scotland Yard’s newly formed eight-man squad of detective-investigators. Jack Whicher, the lead investigator on the case, found himself dealing not only with the challenge of the crime itself, and the pressure of heightened public scrutiny resulting from the relatively recent power of the newspapers and the telegraph, but also with the family’s resistance to the role he was there to play – especially as it began to seem that the crime had been committed by someone inside the house and not by a stranger. The DIs were generally from working class backgrounds, and there was a very strong feeling that not only were they violating the much-vaunted sanctity of the Englishman’s Home with their blunt questions and dirty fingers, but that there was a fundamental impropriety in their determination to dig into and pass judgment on the private business of their social betters. Along the way we also find out the origins of a lot of detective vocabulary we take for granted (“clue,” for instance, and “sleuth”), and as an English Lit major I was intrigued by the influence the crime and its aftermath had on 19th century Brit Lit; this is where we have the genesis of the Country House Murder novel, and of the detective as a compelling literary figure. Elements of the Road Hill case found their way into Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone and Dickens’ unfinished The Mystery of Edwin Drood, while Jack Whicher himself provided inspiration for Collins’ eccentric, rose-loving Inspector Cuff and Dickens’ somewhat less savory Mr Bucket in Bleak House. I also think it’s interesting that the apotheosis of English literary detectives, Sherlock Holmes, who made his first appearance several years after Road Hill, was neither working class nor a sanctioned professional, but a gentlemanly amateur with impeccable manners and social credentials – a detective Victorian society could clasp to its class-conscious breast with impunity. (less)

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Apr 11, 2009 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-non-fiction

I've always been a big fan of "whodunits" and of course you know of my love of historical novels, so I was pretty excited when I saw this book come out and immediately had to snatch it up. Summerscale writes a great novel of a murder mystery set it gothic Victorian London, where the family are the only suspects. The case proves to be very captivating with various theories laid out for the reader to examine. The author is very good at making it not feel like you're reading a non-fiction book that...more

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Feb 27, 2009 La Petite Américaine rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: meh-whatever, i-want-my-money-back

Like most people, I bought this book because I was intrigued by the true story of murder in a good Victorian family, and the detective mystery that followed.

I didn't pay for 200 pages of what read like some friggin mediocre senior honors thesis. I don't care about how the murder turned up in Wiklie Collins, I don't care what Dickens thought about the crime, I don't care which novels it inspired. This book was just saturated with end-notes, footnotes, and quotes ... not that they were distractin...more

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Aug 28, 2009 Michael Haydel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher was a very detailed and fascinating look into a particularly gruesome murder (at least, for its time) in Victorian London.

Summerscale does a really good job of pacing the book just like your typical mystery book might be paced. And the fact that nothing contained within is fiction, is all the more impressive.

She also interweaves discussions on how this particular murder and its main detective, Mr. Whicher, went on to inspire nearly all future detective fiction, as...more

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Jun 02, 2009 Kemper rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-mystery, non-fiction

Very interesting book. Does a nice job of showing how authors of late 19th century England got fascinated by detectives and how this case influenced their detective fiction which in turn influenced the modern detective fiction. Lots of interesting period details and it shows how little people have changed. If you substituted blogs and Fox News for the tabloid papers and letters people wrote to the police, the hysteria and ignorance surrounding a crime in 1860 can still be seen in modern day medi...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Sam Woodfield added it · review of another edition

There has been lots of accolade and praise for this book, but I didnt really understand this. I really dont think that this book is as great as it has previously been made out to be. I think the story of theRoad Hill murder is very interesting and poses many questions; did Constance really kill her brother?, what drove her to kill? what did Samuel know? However, I dont think Summerscale goes anyway to exploring this fully. I thought she breezed over things far too much, simply listing dates and...more

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May 02, 2011 La Stamberga dei Lettori added it · review of another edition

Shelves: valetta97

L'edizione in lungua originale in mio possesso ha una copertina accattivante e riporta in quarta di copertina commentiiintriganti che promettono suspence, mistero e pure un po' di terrore. Risultato: una grossa delusione e tanta noia. Partiamo dal principio che avevo voglia di leggere un bel giallo, qualcosa con una trama ben costriuta, in stile classico con poche morbosità e un bel mistero da dipanare seguendo gli indizi. Invece mi sono ritrovata in mano una sorta di saggio un po' sconclusionat...more

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Feb 27, 2011 Clumsy rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

interessante esperimento meta narrativo, o di cronaca vera se si vuole. la ricostruzione di un caso giudiziario di metà ottocento rimasto praticamente insoluto, per insufficienza di prove, continui errori da parte della polizia ed eccessiva ingerenza della stampa e dell’opinione pubblica. estremamente rigoroso e preciso, può essere avvincente soprattutto per chi sia interessato a ricostruire la nascita dell’investigazione di tipo moderno, ovviamente in ambito anglosassone. ho il dubbio, però, ch...more

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Nov 16, 2010 Valetta rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: storia, vera, gialli, lingua, originale

Copertina accattivante,commenti riportati in quarta di copertina intriganti, risultato: una grossa delusione e tanta noia. Partiamo dal principio che avevo voglia di leggere un bel giallo, qualcosa con una trama ben costriuta, in stile classico con poche morbosità e un bel mistero da dipanare seguendo gli indizi. Invece mi sono ritrovata in mano una sorta di saggio un po' sconclusionato che, a partire da un omicidio realmente accaduto, disserta su una serie di argomenti imprecisati, che spaziano...more

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Mar 04, 2009 Arthur rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A true-crime murder mystery wrapped in its historical context. Saville Kent, a three-year old English child is missing; then found in an outhouse: suffocated, stabbed, with his throat slit. The bungling local police can't figure it out and Jack Whicher, one of the first London detectives is brought into the case.

Whicher figures it out, but his conclusion isn't supported by much evidence and the accused is let off. Whicher is soon hounded out of the police force, but five years later the accused...more

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Feb 09, 2009 Gravity rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Nowadays when every other new television show is some detective/crime drama, we take the genre for granted. "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher," is both a mystery/crime novel and an academic history book. It relates the story of a Victorian manor house murder (before it was a genre), and the attempt to solve the mystery by one of England's first real Scotland Yard detectives.

Summerscale does a terrific job of juggling different genres; manages to maintain the suspense and mystery of the actual murd...more

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Dec 16, 2008 Johnny Waco rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, non-fiction

I learned about this book when I was reading Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone, and discovered that significant details and plotlines were inspired by the gruesome 1860 murder of three-year old Saville Kent. In writing The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, Summerscale obviously did voluminous research in piecing together not only the facts of the Kent murder, but also public perception at the time and the eventual impact on popular culture--especially the emerging mystery genre.

The crime itself was revolti...more I learned about this book when I was reading Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone, and discovered that significant details and plotlines were inspired by the gruesome 1860 murder of three-year old Saville Kent. In writing The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, Summerscale obviously did voluminous research in piecing together not only the facts of the Kent murder, but also public perception at the time and the eventual impact on popular culture--especially the emerging mystery genre.

The crime itself was revolting: Saville was discovered missing early one morning and found later, throat slashed and dropped down the pit of an outdoor privy. Since police could find no evidence of tampering from the outside, suspicion turned to those living in the Kent household--but who? Besides the Kent family itself, six children besides Saville, ages ranging from newborn to late twenties, several servants also lived in Road Hill House. When local police couldn't make headway, Scotland Yard sent their star investigator, Jack Whicher, to take over. Although rumors swirled around almost every resident of the house, Whicher narrowed in on Constance, the sixteen-year old stepsister of Saville. She clearly held a grudge against her stepmother, her former nursemaid who had replaced Constance's now-dead mother, and had a history of disturbed behavior and well-thought out plots. Her inability to adequately explained what happened to one of her three nightdresses (splattered with blood?) further implicated her. Unfortunately, when Whicher arrested her, public outcry became defeaning as the issue went from murder to class--how dare a working-class detective add to the grief of a respectable family! How dare he not implicate one of the servants, clearly more capable of such a horrific act! Constance was released, Whicher was eventually hounded into retirement, and the crime remained unsolved...until five years later, when Constance, now living in an Episcopal women's home, confessed! Summerscale tells the tale compellingly, although I understand why some readers might become annoyed by all of the context she provides, and she proposes, convincingly, in my opinion, that Constance may have taken the fall solitarily, but she probably had help from her brother William, her closest sibling and co-conspirator in some of her previous schemes. As much an enlightening social history as a good crime book.(less)

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Nov 23, 2008 Ann rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Do you ever feel cheated when you don’t love a book, not because that book is in any way deficient, but because you are some sort of Platonic ideal of reader? Why does my fascination with mid-to-late 1800s England – I must have read Bleak House when my skull was still soft and unfused, because the smog and the urchins and the overcrowded cemeteries just call to me – entitle me to feel like I deserve to be more impressed than this? I mean, how many people have sufficient respect for those who giv...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Danielle rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House is a title, which immediately entices readers who find mystery and intrigue exciting. You pick up the book, finding the text and cover illustrations to be equally as alluring, and begin to read the summary on the back of the book. Farther down the paragraph are the words "this true story" and suddenly you're finding another book to take advantage of the Buy 1 Get 1 1/2 Price deal and running through the line of Marks & Spencer at...more The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House is a title, which immediately entices readers who find mystery and intrigue exciting. You pick up the book, finding the text and cover illustrations to be equally as alluring, and begin to read the summary on the back of the book. Farther down the paragraph are the words "this true story" and suddenly you're finding another book to take advantage of the Buy 1 Get 1 1/2 Price deal and running through the line of Marks & Spencer at Heathrow Airport, even though you just bought six books and your plane should be boarding within the next twenty minutes.

Set in the midst of the Victorian era in England, a time spooky in its own right as it was steeped in Gothic themes and the emergence of criminology, the book details the circumstances of a young boy's murder in his home on 30 June 1860. Three-year-old Francis Savill Kent was the target of someone's mailce within the household, and detective Jack Whicher of Scotland Yard is called upon to discover which of the siblings, parents, or household staff might have killed the child in such a brutally thorough manner.

The murder is a harrowing ordeal for all in the town of Road, particularly those who are cast under the pall of suspicion. Ultimately, a murderer is named, tried, and convicted, but the story does not precisely end here. One is left with the impression of never being able to understand or know how Savill came to be murdered. What makes this eerie story all the more chilling, is the very nature of its being true.

Kate Summerscale has written a well researched account of the murder at Road Hill House, which is written with the detail necessary for explaining crime but also with the beauty of good prose. What was a most interesting aspect of the novel was its discussion of the London police force, the development of the detective profession, and its evolution during the Victorian era in fiction and life. Summerscale refers to fictional detectives like Mr. Bucket of Bleak House and links his fictitious efforts to the very real efforts of Jack Whicher to interpret evidence to find answers. Unfortunately, without the forensic technology of today, Whicher is left trying to guess if a blood stain on a nightgown is that of Savill's or caused by a more naturally occuring event. As Whicher grapples with the evidence, one begins to think of how an investigation might be handled in the same circumstances in the present day, and how much more easily and decisively a verdict could be reached.
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Feb 18, 2013 Kelly rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

See this review on 1776books.net...
http://1776books.blogspot.com/2009/07...

Who is Mr. Whicher and what does he have suspicions about? How many out there have ever heard of him? No one? Now how many have heard of Sherlock Holmes? Everyone? Well, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would not have been inspired to write about old Sherlock if not for Mr. Whicher.

Mr. Whicher was a real person living in England in the mid-1800s. In fact, every word of Summerscale's thick book is true. The main thrust of the book i...more

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Jan 10, 2013 Constance rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not really a sound work of nonfiction; here’s how a typical paragraph would go:
X might have had Y disease. [Excerpt from some medical book explaining symptoms of Y disease.] [Quote from a random detective novel from the late 1800s about someone who had Y disease.] Thus, X had Y disease and would have been thinking/doing Z.

Entertaining though and interestingly instructive about how the modern idea of the detective was born and developed, and how the rise of middle- and upper-class domestic crimes...more

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Nov 07, 2012 Marigold rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: history, mysteries, non-fiction

This was an interesting book, though not a great one, & it felt uneven to me. First, for the confused, this is a work of non-fiction. It's the story of a sensational "locked room" murder that took place in mid-19th century England. It's also about how the story influenced writers of the time such as Dickens & Wilkie Collins. It's about the early days of crime detection & the men who were the first detectives, & how their new science & their personalities were soon woven into...more

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Oct 16, 2012 Nina Jon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A true life crime which has all the hallmarks of a fictional whodunnit – a Gothic mansion, a plethora of suspects and sudden violent death. A story made all the more tragic by the fact that it really happened. This is a story which has at its core those basest of human emotions – jealously and vengeance – which in this case were taken out against a young child. Its themes are the stuff that drives fiction: money, class, marginalisation, betrayal and fury; yet this is not so much a whodunnit as a...more A true life crime which has all the hallmarks of a fictional whodunnit – a Gothic mansion, a plethora of suspects and sudden violent death. A story made all the more tragic by the fact that it really happened. This is a story which has at its core those basest of human emotions – jealously and vengeance – which in this case were taken out against a young child. Its themes are the stuff that drives fiction: money, class, marginalisation, betrayal and fury; yet this is not so much a whodunnit as a how to go about catching them what done it.
Some accuse Kate Summerscale of weighing the plot down with detail, but I don't agree because for me it is the detail which makes the book. Even with the sophistication of our science the police can't always solve every murder or violent crime. Mr Wicher had only his brain (and his suspicions) to rely on and yet, although there are some who won't agree with this, I think he probably got his man, although justice may not have been entirely done.
I would recommend this book for a number of reasons. It's a fascinating study of Victorian life and middle-class mores in which none of the characters come off particularly well and are exposed for what they were. It's a study in how Victorian detectives had to work. If that's not enough for you, because of the lack of forensic evidence, the book allows the reader to challenge the real-life ending, which is always satisfying. It's also a study in how gender and youth provokes assumption and preconception; and that's because it's basically a study in human nature, as is all violent crime. Not only did we learn of the crime and the probable reasons why it occurred, but the public fury directed against Mr Wicher following his arrest of the prime suspect has certain modern-day parallels if you compare it to some high-profile murder trials of recent years, and in my view for largely the same reasons.
Finally – the book should be applauded for allowing us to remember young Saville. Gone but now not forgotten.

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Sep 06, 2012 Sarajayne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bookclub, read-in-2012

I was under the impression that this was a creative nonfiction book, but it's really a biography - of the crime (the murder at Road Hill House), rather than a person. As such, it is a bit dry at times - particularly at the very beginning and in the middle. Only a bit, though.

Kate Summerscale explores everything known about the murder, about the inhabitants of Road Hill House, and presents it all for you to make your own decisions about whodunnit; though she heavily leans towards one answer, she...more

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About Kate Summerscale

Kate Summerscale (born in 1965) is an English writer and journalist.
She won the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-fiction in 2008 with The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House and won a Somerset Maugham Award in 1998 (and was shortlisted for the 1997 Whitbread Awards for biography) for the bestselling The Queen of Whale Cay, about Joe Carstairs, 'fastest woman on water'.
As a journa...more

More about Kate Summerscale...

Books by Kate Summerscale

Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady

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“Perhaps this is the purpose of detective investigations, real and fictional -- to transform sensation, horror and grief into a puzzle, and then to solve the puzzle, to make it go away. 'The detective story,' observed Raymond Chandler in 1949, 'is a tragedy with a happy ending.' A storybook detective starts by confronting us with a murder and ends by absolving us of it. He clears us of guilt. He relieves us of uncertainty. He removes us from the presence of death.” — 2 people liked it

“Nothing can be more slightly defined than the line of demarcation between sanity and insanity ... Make the definition too narrow, it becomes meaningless; make it too wide, and the whole human race becomes involved in the dragnet. In strictness we are all mad when we give way to passion, to prejudice, to vice, to vanity; but if all the passionate, prejudiced and vain people were to be locked up as lunatics, who is to keep the key to the asylum?"

(Editorial, The Times, 22 July 1853)” — 1 person liked it

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title link	preview: The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3931340-the-suspicions-of-mr-whicher?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312057945l/3931340.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3931340-the-suspicions-of-mr-whicher?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective by Kate Summerscale[/url]

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective

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