Railway Crimes Committed in Victorian Britain

Railway Crimes Committed in Victorian Britain written by Malcolm Clegg and published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 160

The vast majority of Britain’s railways were built between 1830 and 1900 which

happened to coincide with the reign of Queen Victoria (1837-1901). By the turn

of the Nineteenth/Twentieth Century, over one hundred different railway companies

were operating in Britain on more than 22,000 miles of railway track.

Although these new railways brought prosperity to the nation and enabled goods and passengers to be speedily transported the length and breadth of the country for the first time, this remarkable feat of engineering brought with it some unwelcome side-effects, one of which was crime. Wherever crowds of people gather, or unattended goods are being transported, a few unscrupulous individuals and career criminals will usually emerge to ply their trade. Some railway staff members are also unable to resist the temptation of stealing money or goods passing through their hands.

This book gives an insight into the nature and types of crime committed on the railways during the Victorian era, incorporating such offences as theft, assaults and murder, fraud, obstructing the railways and various other infringements of the law.

Over seventy different cases mentioned in the book are true accounts of events which took place on the railway during the Victorian era, the details of which were obtained as a result of hours of researching British Newspaper Archives of that period. The author hopes that readers will get as much pleasure from analysing the various cases cited in the book, as he himself derived from researching and writing about them.

An interesting book, Railway Crimes Committed in Victorian Britain that does exactly what it says on the tin. A wide variety of crimes were committed on the railways and surrounds. The crimes listed range from the serious right down to the almost trivial, but It’s a good read to see a lot about the social issues and crimes going on at the time. While some stories or incidents got a few pages of writing, quite a few, the least serious got a paragraph. But like I said well written and a good read about crime on the railways. Certainly one for those interested in railways or the Victorian era.

Victorian Murderesses

Victorian Murderesses written by Debbie Blake was published by

Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 222

The Victorian belief that women were the ‘weaker sex’ who were expected to devote

themselves entirely to family life, made it almost inconceivable that they could ever

be capable of committing murder. What drove a woman to murder her husband, lover

or even her own child? Were they tragic, mad or just plain evil?

Using various sources including court records, newspaper accounts and letters, this book explores some of the most notorious murder cases committed by seven women in nineteenth century Britain and America. It delves into each of the women’s lives, the circumstances that led to their crimes, their committal and trial and the various reasons why they resorted to murder: the fear of destitution led Mary Ann Brough to murder her own children; desperation to keep her job drove Sarah Drake to her crime. Money was the motive in the case of Mary Ann Cotton, who is believed to have poisoned as many as twenty-one people. Kate Bender lured her unsuspecting victims to their death in ‘The Slaughter Pen’ before stripping them of their valuables; Kate Webster’s temper got the better of her when she brutally murdered and decapitated her employer; nurse Jane Toppan admitted she derived sexual pleasure from watching her victims die slowly and Lizzie Borden was suspected of murdering her father and stepmother with an axe, so that she could live on the affluent area known as ‘the hill’ in Fall River, Massachusetts.

I love a book full of crime stories and this one looking at women who murder from the Victorian era doesn’t fail to entertain. I don’t know what it is about Victorian era crime, maybe it’s the black and white photos or the fact that people didn’t exactly live in the best places or conditions, but things always come across grim or in an unfortunate way. Victorian Murderesses looks at seven separate case from Lizzie Borden, Mary Ann Cotton to the Boston Borgia. The book tries to look at reasons for the murders such as insanity, pleasure, abuse or just the impossible. The chapters look at these reasons through newspaper accounts, court records, diaries and letters. There are some great stories here and they all fit together in this great book nicely. A good book if you enjoy true crime books involving women who murder.

The World’s First Football Superstar - The Life of Stephen Smith

The World’s First Football Superstar - The Life of Stephen Smith written

by Owen Arthur and published by Pen & Sword Books - £25 - Hardback -

Pages 296

Buried in an unmarked grave in the churchyard of the small village of Benson in

Oxfordshire lies the body of a footballing world champion from a bygone era

shrouded in the mists of time. His name was Stephen Smith. This footballer of

the Victorian and Edwardian era could claim as many league title winning medals

as John Terry and Wayne Rooney, more league winners medals than Eric Cantona,

Frank Lampard, Cristiano Ronaldo, Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer.

This book is the never before told story of a footballer born at the end of the Industrial Revolution, son of agricultural labourers who became a miner, working underground combining that job with one as a professional footballer to rise to the top of the footballing world. Smith won trophy after trophy in the best and only professional league anywhere in the world at that time. He also scored the goal that made England World Champions in 1895.

Smith, at the top of his game in a move that mirrored the Premier League breakaway of 1992 and the recent ill-fated European Super League then joined the newly formed Southern League at a time when the Football League started to cap player wages. He did this in order to ensure his family’s future as well as end his reliance on his part-time earnings from mining. Football’s zeitgeist has fundamentally changed very little in the last 130 years for those inside the industry.

This book is the story of Stephen Smith, England’s leading footballer at the turn of the 19th century, this man would have been the equivalent of the likes of Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Having the world at his feet, he was playing at a number of clubs and England, winning a plethora of trophies. Pen & Sword Books always exposes my knowledge of sporting history because I think like many, very few will have heard of Stephen Smith. But his story is interesting to learn and if anything makes me wish we could have some more of him present today. A really good book and makes me think about how good football used to be.

On the Trail of Jack the Ripper

On the Trail of Jack the Ripper written by Richard Charles Cobb & Mark Davis

published by Pen & Sword Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 160

For 132 years, the ghastly and horrific murders committed in London’s East End by the

infamous ‘Jack the Ripper’ have gripped and baffled the world. The Ripper commenced

his series of atrocities at the end of August and continued freely until the beginning of

November 1888 when inexplicably the murders stopped…In all, five women were brutally

murdered and savagely mutilated in the most unimaginable way. The killing spree centred

in and around the impoverished rabbit warren of alleys and rookeries of Whitechapel. The

invisible killer was never caught despite the very best intentions of the police and

thousands of would-be detectives following the grim proceedings.

Since those dark days of murder committed by gaslight, the mystery of Jack the Ripper has

become the ultimate cold case amongst crime historians and armchair researchers

worldwide, with a multitude of books, plays and dramas all hoping to solve what London’s

finest Victorian detectives failed to do.

True crime and social historian Richard C Cobb returns to the Whitechapel of 1888 to see

what remains from this dark time in London’s history and to take the reader on a step-by-step

tour of the modern world of Jack the Ripper, giving a detailed history of the victims, the

crimes and the police investigation. We also look at other victims (outside the accepted five)

which may have been killed by the same man.

Using the original police reports, state of the art photographs, unseen images and diagrams,

he presents the truth about what actually happened in the autumn of 1888 and what remains

of Jack the Ripper’s London today. He also focuses on the ever-changing face of London’s

End End, giving the reader a real sense of how the past meets the present in arguably

London’s most vibrant and cultural quarter…where the shadow of the Ripper is never too far

away.

On the Trail of Jack the Ripper does exactly that in that the book takes the reader on a journey

around the Whitechapel area of London, or prominent places and explains the story of the Jack

the Ripper crimes, with present-day photos of the various areas. This is in my opinion very

good in that not only does it explain the tragedy in real terms, but it also gives an updated

feel to the crimes as it feels more like a documentary-style presentation. It felt really good to me

and made it feel a bit like a modern crime rather than a Victorian crime, I think this will entice

younger true crime fans to the story with this updated style.

Although I have read a good number of Jack the Ripper books, I found this one to be clear,

interesting and still very informative even though it is about an old crime, ideal especially for

a younger market.

Traditional Dyeing

Traditional Dyeing written by Lynn Huggins-Cooper and published

by Pen & Sword Books - £12.99 - Softcover - Pages 176

This book offers a whistle-stop guide to the history of dyeing. The story begins in

prehistory when people discovered and used the glory of colours created by earth

pigments, plants and more. We move through history from the medieval dye gardens

to the horrors of chemical dyes from the Victorian era that damaged watercourses,

created pollution and caused terrible sickness and untold deaths. Today, along with

safe commercial dyes, modern ‘cottage industries’ are once more the leaders in the

innovative use of dye plants.

The second part of the book brings us up to date, via interviews with modern-day artisans. These dye workers generously allowed the author access to their studios and creative lives and discussed the way they use and adapt traditional methods, techniques and tools for the twenty-first century. Photos of their craft offer a unique window into the world of dyes.

Finally, if you are inspired to try your hand at this fascinating craft, the book has a section that explains simple eco-dyeing and planning your own dye garden. It also has a resources section containing a valuable list of suppliers of plants, seeds, dyes, tools and materials, as well as information about training courses, useful websites and more – everything you need to get started!

I would like to say a thank you to Pen & Sword Books for allowing me to review this book, or should I say mostly my wife who works as a freelance crafter in many skills. She has been looking at getting into producing wools and spinning etc, so this has come along at a timely period for her. These are mostly her opinions with mine thrown in too, the book is excellent in that it comes across as very clear, concise and very informative. The book goes through the history of traditional dyeing such as medieval, Georgian, Victorian and modern, this historical knowledge was great as it gives you the background to the craft and this really encourages to learn more and more. My wife really liked the info from the artisan crafters and the links are going to help her pursue this craft much further. A really good and informative book for anyone wanting to get into this craft as a business or for pleasure, I’m now having to do more planting now.

Jack the Ripper - The Policeman - A New Suspect

Jack the Ripper - The Policeman - A New Suspect written by Rod Beattie and

published by Pen & Sword Books - £20 - Hardback - Pages 130

Imagine you were a police officer and had been dominated as a child by an abusive

mother who didn’t really want you and as an adult had been served bastardy orders

twice, firstly by a woman in whose house you lived and then by a woman you had a

relationship with.

Then, to top it all after you had become a police officer in another city you arrested a woman you thought was a prostitute, whose subsequent actions caused you to be accused of perjury and you ended up in court at the Old Bailey. Although you were found not guilty, it ruined your career and left you seriously in debt and though you were still a policeman you were taken off the streets and assigned to a menial job guarding a museum.

As a police officer you were in a perfect position to take revenge on those people you thought had ruined you, prostitutes.

This book contains the complete reason Jack the Ripper came to be. It sheds new light on the mystery of the killer. After all, who is going to suspect a policeman going about his daily duties of being one of the world’s most infamous serial killers.

This book revolves around the long-lasting story of Jack the Ripper and ‘Who dunnit’, with the prime suspect being suggested this time as Bowden Endacott a Metropolitan Policeman. After all, as in Victorian Britain, it was a time when police officers were starting to be recognised as reliable people you could trust. I should add that this did take a while as is usual there were dodgy officers around as there always have been. The author Rod Beattie does put across some good points that would be very plausible, but then after all I have read some points of his arguments I might argue with. But as you would have to say there has been some good research put into this book and it’s a very enjoyable read, certainly a good one to put against all the other books that try to identify the ripper suspect.