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3.4 AVERAGE
3.4 AVERAGE
In the summer of 1895, thirteen year old Robert Coombes murdered his mother.
I loved The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, which used the murder of a three year old boy as a narrative structure to look at how police and detectives functioned in Victorian society (particularly where the process of investigation of upper class households by lower class detectives ruffled class sensibilities).
The Wicked Boy doesn't have the same impact. At first, I thought it was looking at the scandal of 'penny dreadfuls', then it look at the criminal justice system, then it looks at the treatment of mental illness, and then it veers off entirely to go over Australia's participation in World War I.
I enjoyed every part of The Wicked Boy, but it didn't have the same satisfying impact without the broader point. It ended up just being about this one boy, with broader issues only mentioned as interesting asides.
I loved The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher, which used the murder of a three year old boy as a narrative structure to look at how police and detectives functioned in Victorian society (particularly where the process of investigation of upper class households by lower class detectives ruffled class sensibilities).
The Wicked Boy doesn't have the same impact. At first, I thought it was looking at the scandal of 'penny dreadfuls', then it look at the criminal justice system, then it looks at the treatment of mental illness, and then it veers off entirely to go over Australia's participation in World War I.
I enjoyed every part of The Wicked Boy, but it didn't have the same satisfying impact without the broader point. It ended up just being about this one boy, with broader issues only mentioned as interesting asides.
dark
informative
slow-paced
Unlike other true crime murder stories, this one is ultimately about hope and redemption. Thirteen-year old Robert, who seemed to be without remorse for killing his mother, was committed to an insane asylum. While this book isn’t compelling, I did find it fascinating that Robert took steps to rebuild his life for the better. He became a model patient. The story in this true crime book isn’t about the crime, but how the criminal changed his life after.
This book was definitely not what I expected by the end (in a good way).
While we follow the murder of Emily Coombes and the trial of her sons as the murderers, there is so much more to their story over the years.
The author spends a lot of time giving a fascinating backstory of what late nineteenth century England was like for the poor, working class as the world continues to industrialize. We learn a lot about what working and living conditions were like, the criminal justice system in its rudimentary form, how insanity pleas and asylums work, the role of penny dreadfuls and how many influential people and organizations considered them a cause of moral degeneration, the education system, and more (that I can't reveal without some considering it a spoiler).
Kate Summerscale does a great job covering the facts in a fascinating and well-researched way. She never sensationalizes these boys and this murder, but neither does she present the story in a dry and boring manner.
By the end, I was left musing about how people can touch the lives of others in such unexpected ways and how events happen in such a way that makes one believe fate is at play. Which is never a bad way to end a book in my opinion.
Overall a solid read and definitely worth picking up if you want more contextual information to the time and history of your true crime (and not just the crime's details itself) books.
While we follow the murder of Emily Coombes and the trial of her sons as the murderers, there is so much more to their story over the years.
The author spends a lot of time giving a fascinating backstory of what late nineteenth century England was like for the poor, working class as the world continues to industrialize. We learn a lot about what working and living conditions were like, the criminal justice system in its rudimentary form, how insanity pleas and asylums work, the role of penny dreadfuls and how many influential people and organizations considered them a cause of moral degeneration, the education system, and more (that I can't reveal without some considering it a spoiler).
Kate Summerscale does a great job covering the facts in a fascinating and well-researched way. She never sensationalizes these boys and this murder, but neither does she present the story in a dry and boring manner.
By the end, I was left musing about how people can touch the lives of others in such unexpected ways and how events happen in such a way that makes one believe fate is at play. Which is never a bad way to end a book in my opinion.
Overall a solid read and definitely worth picking up if you want more contextual information to the time and history of your true crime (and not just the crime's details itself) books.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Extremely well researched. I enjoyed the section on broadmoor. It was slow in some sections
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization
Minor: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Suicide
I think this is Summerscale’s best to date. I devoured this one in less than 24 hours.
Two normal boys, not yet in their teens, play at truancy and go to Lord’s Cricket Grounds to watch a match. Harmless fun, really. The elder brother has just aged out of the mandatory school age anyway.
What’s peculiar is their sudden (relative) wealth and lack of adult supervision — at any point. After several days, the body of their mother is discovered in the front bedroom upstairs, mutilated and covered with a sheet. The boys are instantly suspected and arrested. The book follows their trials and their later lives.
Summerscale pulls in not just trial transcripts and newspaper articles; she dusts off witness statements from old police files and finds copies of long forgotten penny dreadfuls that were seized in the arrest.
Please read my entire review here: http://mwgerard.com/review-the-wicked-boy/
Two normal boys, not yet in their teens, play at truancy and go to Lord’s Cricket Grounds to watch a match. Harmless fun, really. The elder brother has just aged out of the mandatory school age anyway.
What’s peculiar is their sudden (relative) wealth and lack of adult supervision — at any point. After several days, the body of their mother is discovered in the front bedroom upstairs, mutilated and covered with a sheet. The boys are instantly suspected and arrested. The book follows their trials and their later lives.
Summerscale pulls in not just trial transcripts and newspaper articles; she dusts off witness statements from old police files and finds copies of long forgotten penny dreadfuls that were seized in the arrest.
Please read my entire review here: http://mwgerard.com/review-the-wicked-boy/
Well-researched history hinging on a boy murdering his mother, encompassing asylums, court process, early studies in pathology. Just not enough story.
The story of a life after murder. Takes a real case of matricide from the 1890s and uses it to tease out details of Victorian life in the poor East End, contemporary attitudes to modernity and progress, and moral panics.
As today, media popular with young people is blamed for indolence and violence; then it was ‘penny dreadfuls’; now, the internet. Good history writing teaches you as much about modern life as it does the past, and this is no exception.
The atrophy of the species was attributed to the speed and pressure of modern life—telegrams, railways, big business, a craving for instant pleasure.
As today, media popular with young people is blamed for indolence and violence; then it was ‘penny dreadfuls’; now, the internet. Good history writing teaches you as much about modern life as it does the past, and this is no exception.
In 1895 England, 16-year old Robert confessed to having stabbed his mother and living in the house with her body, his younger brother and an adult friend of the family for 17 days. All were arrested, the brother subsequently released, and the older friend was also convicted though he had no knowledge of the murder. Robert is committed to a hospital for the criminally insane which turned out to be his salvation. He was released, deemed sane, at 30 years of age. Eventually he emigrated to New South Wales, Australia. The author's research has resulted in true and readable narrative of the event and Robert's life. It also meticulously portrays the socio-economic level, mores of the time and the major stories of the day. Summerscale creates a likely scenario of the home life Robert had in what can only be called a dysfunctional household. It's a fascinating story and I am awed by Summerscale's research and perseverance to tell it. After fighting in the war and winning medals for his bravery, he settled again in New South Wales to a life of farming and solitude. Until he befriends a neighbor boy who was being victimized by his step-father. It would seem that Robert understood the rage of the step-father but also the feelings of the boy, as his life seemed so similar. Robert offered to have the boy live with him, which he did for several years, and raised him to be a good citizen, caring and considerate. They remained friends until Robert's death. The author had the good fortune of interviewing that boy when he was over 90 years old, forever grateful to Robert for saving his life.
This was pretty interesting, but I confess I skimmed over some parts where the author wandered off in pretty dull unrelated detail.