It is a summer's night in 1860. In an elegant detached Georgian house in the village of Road, Wiltshire, all is quiet. Behind shuttered windows the Kent family lies sound asleep. At some point after midnight a dog barks. The family wakes the next morning to a horrific discovery: an unimaginably gruesome murder has taken place in their home. The household reverberates with shock, not least because the guilty party is surely still among them. Jack Whicher of Scotland Yard, the most celebrated detective of his day, reaches Road Hill House a fortnight later. He faces an unenviable task: to solve a case in which the grieving family are the suspects. The murder provokes national hysteria. The thought of what might be festering behind the closed doors of respectable middle-class homes - scheming servants, rebellious children, insanity, jealousy, loneliness and loathing - arouses fear and a kind of excitement. But when Whicher reaches his shocking conclusion there is uproar and bewilderment. A true story that inspired a generation of writers such as Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle, this has all the hallmarks of the classic murder mystery - a body; a detective; a country house steeped in secrets. In The Suspicions of Mr Whicher Kate Summerscale untangles the facts behind this notorious case, bringing it back to vivid, extraordinary life.
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'I can't think of another book which takes you so fast into the smells, tastes and atmosphere of that time.' -- Doris Lessing
Book Description
The fascinating story of a famous Victorian murder case - and the notorious detective who solved it
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356 of 379 people found the following review helpful
By Icy Sedgwick
Format:Hardcover
This book is as much a history of Victorian social values and the emerging field of detective fiction in the nineteenth century as it is a book about a hideous country house murder in 1860. Researched using original police papers from the National Archives, books on the crime and many more sources, the book tells the story of the Road Hill House murder of 1860, when a three year old boy was brutally slain by another occupant of his home. The book sets out to detail the case, from the original event to the investigation by Scotland Yard detective Jack Whicher, to the aftermath suffered by the entire family.
It's extremely well written and well researched, and even though there is little to add suspense considering anyone with an Internet connection can discover the identity of the murderer, Summerscale still manages to inject a certain air of tension into proceedings, drawing things out as they must have unfolded at the time. With a peculiar ability to grab your attention and hold it firmly, the book is difficult to put down, and a thoroughly fascinating read for anyone with an interest in detective fiction, real life crime or a historical period that throws up as many questions as it answers.
Highly recommended.
It's extremely well written and well researched, and even though there is little to add suspense considering anyone with an Internet connection can discover the identity of the murderer, Summerscale still manages to inject a certain air of tension into proceedings, drawing things out as they must have unfolded at the time. With a peculiar ability to grab your attention and hold it firmly, the book is difficult to put down, and a thoroughly fascinating read for anyone with an interest in detective fiction, real life crime or a historical period that throws up as many questions as it answers.
Highly recommended.
134 of 148 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The murder of a young child which took place at Road Hill House, Wiltshire in 1860 captured the imagination of the public and turned everyone into amateur detectives. The perfect example of a country house murder with a finite amount of suspects also inspired writers of the time such as Dickens, Wilkie Collins and Mary Elizabeth Braddon.
'The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher' is structured so that first, we learn the details of the crime, then we learn about the investigation which leads on to what happened next and the author's own theory based on the evidence. To say this book is well-researched in something of an understatement; if someone goes through a toll road, we know how much they pay; if someone moves to London we find out who they lived next door to; if someone left a will, we find out exactly what they left and to whom. I'm sure this level of detail would be irritating to some, but I found it absolutely incredible!
The book is also interesting in giving us a taste of the time, the attitudes of the people, the ways in which the Police force was growing and how events were shaping literature.
This is an extraordinary achievement and engrossing throughout. I can't wait to see what she will come up with next!
'The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher' is structured so that first, we learn the details of the crime, then we learn about the investigation which leads on to what happened next and the author's own theory based on the evidence. To say this book is well-researched in something of an understatement; if someone goes through a toll road, we know how much they pay; if someone moves to London we find out who they lived next door to; if someone left a will, we find out exactly what they left and to whom. I'm sure this level of detail would be irritating to some, but I found it absolutely incredible!
The book is also interesting in giving us a taste of the time, the attitudes of the people, the ways in which the Police force was growing and how events were shaping literature.
This is an extraordinary achievement and engrossing throughout. I can't wait to see what she will come up with next!
22 of 25 people found the following review helpful
By Pam Gearhart
Format:Hardcover
I was slightly disappointed. The author did a fantastic job piecing together the wealth of information about the case -- newspaper reports, official records, letters, interview notes, etc. We know what everyone did in great detail. The author was careful to stick to the facts. She didn't fictionalize or make assumptions. That's good reporting. However, the result was that I was unable to connect with or feel sympathy for any of the people involved, even poor little Savile. All I had was facts, and facts can't put flesh on these people.
It's a good read, but it felt like something was missing. It's not the author's fault though. Unlike today's true crime writers, she didn't have the benefit of personal observation of the players. They just never came to life for me.
It's a good read, but it felt like something was missing. It's not the author's fault though. Unlike today's true crime writers, she didn't have the benefit of personal observation of the players. They just never came to life for me.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The suspicious of Mr Whicker at Road Hill House
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher
I could not put this book down, wonderfully written and was glued to it each day - the fact that it is a true story added so much to this... Read more
I could not put this book down, wonderfully written and was glued to it each day - the fact that it is a true story added so much to this... Read more
Published 4 days ago by Mrs. S. Fishman
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good read!
It happened to be the required reading that month for our local book club, and it coincided with the television production It couldn't have come at a better time!
Published 14 days ago by Rev. C. W. Goodwins
4.0 out of 5 stars
As much social history as crime story, fascinating stuff for those...
I found this fascinating! I love social history, and the murder (whilst horrifying and grisly) is only a small part of this book. Read more
Published 15 days ago by K. J. Noyes
3.0 out of 5 stars
Great story line
The story line was great but I found the writing stilted. I presume it was intentionally so, written as a case history but I found it irritating.
Published 19 days ago by Glenis Stott
2.0 out of 5 stars
Strange mixture of fact and fiction
The basic story was good, ie solving the murder, but I did not like the sudden digressions into history which was often not relevant to the story. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Janet Winrow
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fascinating docu drama
I live nearby, which prompted my purchase. And it is very instructive about the the mores and culture of the time and the locale, the development of policing and detection in... Read more
Published 1 month ago by ms f
3.0 out of 5 stars
Gave up in the end
I really enjoyed the first few chapters of the book as it dealt with the history of the police and the introduction of a CID, however, after that I became bored with all the sundry... Read more
Published 1 month ago by C. Richardson
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher
A small boy disappears from his nursery in the middle of the night. His body is found in the servants' privy the next day. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Damaskcat
3.0 out of 5 stars
An enjoyable and easy read
Interesting in terms of the early history of detectives and Victorian social history. Less good if you are looking for a "whodunit" as we never really get to the bottom of... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Catwoman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic read!
I got right into this book from the beginning - being a true story it was also fascinating to learn about the development of the legal system (how it once was) and even just how... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Lovely Other Dinosaur
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