Book Review: Flanders, J., The Invention of Murder: How The Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime.

Always judge a book by the cover. The details are simply in the subtitle. Judith Flanders, a world-renowned author, social historian and journalist, reveals her intentions on the cover and leaves no mystery as to the focus of this work. The author’s immediate utilization of the subtitle gives an outline of the book’s contents. The subtitle provides a window into historical events inscribed within its pages. Flanders gives details and provides essentials to the development of each of the three categories, revel in murder, detection, and modern crime creation, within the pages of this historically significant work. Via the subtitle, the author provides enough information to build interest. Mixed in with details of each crime are analyses of the pursuit of the suspects while vivid pictorials of trial and subsequent public executions lead up to the accomplishment of sentences issued by magistrates.