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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Amazingly detailed account of Robert Coombe's life. A very interesting read. I especially loved reading about how the 'penny dreadfuls' of the time may have desensitised young boys to violence (perhaps the equivalent of modern day video-games) and the account of Coombe's time in the Broadmoor Asylum.
Actually pretty boring for a true crime book about a child who murders his mother in Victorian England. But I did think the conclusion was somewhat interesting if a little schmaltzy for my tastes.
Wickedly well researched Victorian time capsule. Kate Summerscale should teach a master class on historical true crime.
challenging
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
I wavered on what rating to give this. The story of Robert Coombes is compelling, however, there just isn't much to it. Granted, the book isn't long, but the entirety of the story seems as if it can be put into 100 pages or less.
His story is one of redemption. I found it impossible not to empathize with the 'Wicked Boy' despite his horrific act. It truly emphasizes the need of safe spaces for children and comprehensive mental health care for all ages. Summerscale does an excellent job of showing how this ill-treated child murderer became a man of great compassion and courage.
His story is one of redemption. I found it impossible not to empathize with the 'Wicked Boy' despite his horrific act. It truly emphasizes the need of safe spaces for children and comprehensive mental health care for all ages. Summerscale does an excellent job of showing how this ill-treated child murderer became a man of great compassion and courage.
Quite the data dump, laden with superfluous scenery. May have worked better as a novel? Good story; interesting to see what happens to a juvenile murderer, but there just wasn't a whole lot of story there.
Talk about a misnomer! There is absolutely no mystery at all in this book. This is very much a Dragnet sort of book - "Just the facts, ma'am" - and what a whole lot of facts there are. Unfortunately, most of the research the author did does not add to the understanding of the murder. I don't need to read pages and pages of summaries of penny dreadful stories that have no bearing on the case. It would have been enough to have one paragraph mentioning that some people thought the pernicious influence of these lurid short stories somehow caused Robert to stab his mother. It reminded me of how now some people now blame video games as the reason for teen violence. Or how in the 1980's heavy metal was the root cause of the criminal behavior of delinquent teens. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
The most interesting section of the book dealt with Robert's 17 years as an inmate at Broadmoor Mental Hospital. I need to go look up and see if there is a book detailing the history of that place - so fascinating! A far cry from how I had pictured it in my mind's eye. I thought it would be more like Bedlam. Summerscale made Broadmoor sound great, so relaxing, like an upscale sanitarium! It was certainly nicer than London's East End in the 19th century, where Robert was from.
This book gets two stars just because I can appreciate all the hard work that went into researching this book. If only she had spent as much time crafting a compelling storyline. Ah well.
The most interesting section of the book dealt with Robert's 17 years as an inmate at Broadmoor Mental Hospital. I need to go look up and see if there is a book detailing the history of that place - so fascinating! A far cry from how I had pictured it in my mind's eye. I thought it would be more like Bedlam. Summerscale made Broadmoor sound great, so relaxing, like an upscale sanitarium! It was certainly nicer than London's East End in the 19th century, where Robert was from.
This book gets two stars just because I can appreciate all the hard work that went into researching this book. If only she had spent as much time crafting a compelling storyline. Ah well.
Such a well-written book. It tells a compelling story of a grisly crime in a compassionate way and serves as a reminder that most things are shades of grey.
Fascinating but less about the 'sensational' murder than the title and the blurb would have you believe. This is no bad thing however as the remainder of Robert Coombs' life includes a look at early mental health treatment in England, the role of bandsmen as stretcher bearers in WWI and a surprising epilogue that throws the whole tale into sharp relief. As always, Kate Summerscale does an excellent job of balancing her research with narrative drive - I listened to the audio version which was well told (although with the occasional dodgy London accent!) and nicely paced. 4.5 stars.