Exploring English Murders: A Look at Notable Cases from Jack the Ripper to Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock

Mrs. Anna Cathcart: Nice looking book

United Kingdom on Nov 02, 2023

Kindle Customer: An interesting book. Each chapter is short, to the point, and enjoyable. Of the many authors mentioned, I recognized many and have read a few of them. This would be a good segment to cover in a college English Literature course, buts value would have been lost on the younger me. But after reading this book, the older me can see a broader perspective on the authors, their works, the film and TV series of this genre. While this is not a book I would have chosen to read, I am glad it was chosen by my Bookclub for this month.

United States on Sep 27, 2023

susan garcia: This was a gift

United States on Sep 25, 2023

JL: I really enjoy the author's writing (as well as the PBS shows she hosts). She is exhaustive in her research and writes a very readable and fact filled book.
Fun to read...

United States on Aug 08, 2023

Teresa Ramseur: Murder is to put it simply a gristly, macabre, morbid, subject, yet we remain fascinated by it. And this book does not sugar-coat any of this, but attempts to shed light on what it is that fascinates us so. As such, I found this to be all at once compelling, macabre, morbid, interesting and informative. Now, given the subject is murder, or rather "The Art of English Murder"-I will not say I loved this, as it feels wrong to do so-I will say I liked it. For it was an interesting read. But it is certainly not for the faint of heart, as the author does not shy away from the gristly details of several real-life murders, some well-known, while others are a little lesser-known. Jack the Ripper gets a mention, as does "The Ballad of Maria Marten", an English ballad, which details the murder of one Maria Marten, but as with most ballads fact is mixed with fiction, and details are rearranged, or left out. As such this creepy ballad has made it's way into my own folksong collection-I am a collector of old-time music and folksongs and I couldn't resist adding the song to my collection once I heard it(thanks YouTube!!)-but while that was interesting, it wasn't the primary reason I wanted this...

United States on Aug 23, 2019

vaughan jones: Have read and enjoyed all of Lucy books Always interesting m

United Kingdom on Aug 05, 2018

rhianna skelton: I found this book after watching Lucy Worsley's documentaries and I cannot recommend it enough, I read this within 24hours I was so infatuated. This information is put across in such a manner that you feel drawn in rather than bored, which is pretty common with books like this. Worsley writes amazingly, meaning whether you're into victorian fiction or not, theres a very good chance you'll love this book.

United Kingdom on Jan 15, 2018

sebquest: Easy to listen to MP3 version, although one or two pronunciations were a bit off and I spotted a couple of incontrovertibly incorrect statements, such as Agatha Christie having two children to Archie Christie - a boy & girl - unclear as to how this error got through as Lucy Worsley states she personally interviewed Matthew Pritchard (Ms Christie's grandson). This made me question other statements, but other than that an interesting 'read'.

United Kingdom on Jun 06, 2017

John D. Cofield: Besides rain, cricket, afternoon tea, and The Queen herself there is nothing considered more quintessentially English than a good murder mystery. Lucy Worsley, whose wit and sparkle enhance her intellect and solid scholarship, in The Art Of The English Murder examines the most famous English mystery writers and some of the most infamous of the murders which helped to inspire them.

Murder, of course, has been a part of history as long as humans have, but the modern fascination with that particular crime dates from the beginnings of the nineteenth century. A newly literate population that was eager for entertainment, snatched up broadsides, newspapers, and pamphlets which carried the news of the day. No news was more intriguing than stories of dastardly murders, the bloodier the better. Newly organized police forces in the burgeoning industrial cities strove to track down and bring to justice the murderers, and the reports of their investigations fascinated the reading public as well. Worsley starts her history here, examining famous murderers like William Palmer and Madeleine Smith, still unsolved mysteries like Jack the Ripper and the Rode House murder, Jack Whicher and...

United States on Jul 28, 2015

Biggles Bear: Complete Ripoff! This is exactly the same book as "A Very British Murder", in a new cover. Page for page, word for word, picture for picture identical. Hugely disappointed! Puts me right off buying anything else from same author. Returned for refund.

Just to be clear, if you don't have "A Very British Murder", this is a really good book, that's why I was so disappointed. But I don't need two copies.

United Kingdom on Dec 13, 2014