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Day 24 #Scarathlon Photo Challenge - Kill. From the blurb on the back: “Could a novel really lead someone to kill?“ The book is based on an actual murder in London, in 1840, which caused a widespread debate about popular novels. I'm not usually into True Crime, but Dickens is one of my all-time favorite authors. #TeamWhoYaGonnaCall

(2018) This is an account of a nineteenth-century murder and moral panic about the pernicious influence of popular fiction, and how they shaped the careers of Dickens and Thackeray. The connection between the crime and the book felt thinner than advertised, but the lit-history bits were especially interesting.

Early in the morning of Wednesday, 6 May 1840, on an ultra-respectable Mayfair street one block to the east of Park Lane, a footman called Daniel Young answered the door to a panic-stricken young woman, Sarah Mancher, the maid of the house opposite. Fetch a surgeon, fetch a constable, she cried: her master, Lord William Russell, was lying in bed with his throat cut.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Can books morally corrupt? Claire Harman traces the scandal surrounding William Harrison Ainsworth's “Jack Sheppard“, a Dick Turpin like story that may have inspired one of the most gruesome and shocking murders of Victorian times. Harman writes beautifully, detailing the background to the crime, the victim and perpetrator, as well as the public debate that surrounded the book, which drew in the likes of Dickens and Thackeray. A fascinating read.

This looks rather intriguing. Have my finger hovering over the buy button on Audible. Should I?

The amazing book sellers at Mr B‘s have hit the right spot again with my personalised monthly book subscription book. Looking forward to this - it‘s a non fiction book about a London crime that took place in 1840 and was, in part, inspired by a novel. What did you get this month @Oryx ?

Does art (or literature) compel someone to do a bad thing? Harman reconstructs then 1840 murder of a London aristocrat and the role a recent novel played in the murder. I really enjoyed this one, especially Harman‘s incorporation of Dickens and Thackeray into her nonfiction narrative.

A bit lackluster for me. The connection between the murder and the literature was disjointed for too long and the end was rushed. I had a hard time getting really invested in the people‘s lives, a critical absence for a true crime book. ⭐️⭐️ #netgalley

I really enjoyed this non-fiction accounting of the “crime that shook Dickens‘ England”. I attribute it to needing a good palate cleansing reading-wise and the straight forward writing style. I enjoyed the mentions of Queen Victoria as the book‘s time line coincided with what little of Young Victoria I watched on tv recently. I also liked the Dickens, Thackeray and Elizabeth Barrett/Robert Browning mentions.

Driving home back to reality ( I refuse to look up calories in Starbucks Irish Cream cold brew because it will suck the joy right out of it‘s deliciousness )

Another snowy day brewing. I didn‘t realize this book was non-fiction 🤷🏻‍♀️but I‘m quite captivated already.

Maybe I'm cynical and jaded, but this murder seemed too mundane and ordinary, in my eyes, to shock anyone, much less a whole city like London. Neither killer nor victim were out of the ordinary, but I suppose blaming popular entertainment, a book and later a play in this case, was a revolutionary thing for Victorian England. 2 💥💥

This was very good as a Victorian murder book, but outstanding as a story about storytelling about crime. I found it very interesting as a kind of historical parallel to present-day concerns about the craze for ‘true crime‘ today. I would definitely recommend it.

An English aristocrat was murdered in 1840 and the person charged claimed to have been influenced by a fictional character. Part historical true crime, part literary history, I thought this one was all good! Fun and interesting with an easy to read writing style.

When your dog is overly fascinated with the smell of your lip balm, it becomes rather difficult to read.

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#dogsofLitsy #Bindi

#bailed
This book sounded so so good. Tried reading the book,listening to the audio version,-nothing worked for me. Maybe it‘s my mood, attention span, time- whatever. Just not for me right now, so back to the library it goes!

#bfcr2 #nomakeup #midnightme #nofilter
Joining in on the selfie challenge for this week‘s #bookfitnesschallenge

In bed reading ❤️📚 until I fall asleep 💤

#bfcr2 #fitlit #checkin
Met my fitness goal for the first time in these 3 weeks! Walked 6+ miles this week!
Also met my book goal: read/listened to 2 books. 🙌🏻🙌🏻

Map of Grosvenor Square,an “ultra-respectable”area of London.Victorian era murder of Lord William Russel, uncle to Queen Victoria‘s Secretary of State for the Colonies, occurred here.The inside flap poses the question of the day: “Can a novel kill?”Cannot wait to dive into the well researched non fiction account of this murder/scandal.

”Harman combines a riveting whodunit with a literary scandal that involved the most famous writers of the day.”

Now this is my kind of “beach” read! A true crime story from early Victorian England that weaves in the likes of literary big wigs such as Dickens, Thackeray, and Poe (!!). This story of a murdered, decapitated minor aristocrat is a real page turner. I highly recommend this book to fans of true crime, 19th century literature, and biographical history. ☠️🔪

@CatLass007 Just wanted to let you know the next #whodunitthesequel book arrived yesterday.

Victorian London. A fancy lord is brutally murdered. Someone is arrested, and even confesses. But did they actually do it? Woven throughout the narrative are Dickens and Thackeray, and a salacious pot-boiler of a novel that had all of London talking. Did the novel inspire the killer? Can media be blamed for crime? Very enjoyable read.

On May 5, 1840 Lord William Russell was most fouly murdered in his bed. Amidst the public craze for Newgate novels and plays proliferating after the publication of the “Jack Sheppard” book by W. H. Ainsworth- that charismatic, unrepentant criminal speaking in the “criminal dialect” and spawning songs and even satire among all classes, this murder caught the imaginations of the public, the Queen, WM Thackeray and Charles Dickens. So good on audio!

This account of a true crime mixed fact with speculation (sometimes motives weren‘t known). Writers like Dickens and Thackeray got caught up in public speculation (& fear) about the role of novelists after a man was killed because his killer was inspired by a book. Covers public morality, class, social responsibility, criminal justice, and real life imitating fiction. A true crime soap opera with a long cast of characters.

#truecrime #nonfiction

I recently joined Scribd and am very impressed with the audio selections. This is my next up- non-fiction about a sensational murder in London at the time of Dickens. Excellent narration and under 8 hours- 2019 release in the US.

Current read was borrowed from the library. I can‘t renew it because there are people waiting for it.

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#Netgalley
#nonfiction2019

A delightful mashup of true crime and my favorite genre, books about books. It also gets at the class worries of upper class London with the grisly murder of a harmless old man (in the ways of British aristocracy, Lord William Russell was pretty innocuous) by his valet (GASP). In among this is the discussion of the unbelievably popular Newgate novels romanticizing criminals‘ exploits, particularly that of Jack Sheppard, ...

The best-selling titles were the most sensational true-crime stories. Even Dickens and Thackeray, both at the beginning of their careers, fell under the spell of these tales–Dickens publicly admiring them, Thackeray rejecting them. One such phenomenon was William Harrison Ainsworth‘s Jack Sheppard, the story of an unrepentant criminal who escaped the gallows time and again.

I'm bad at challenges so tonight I looked with some trepidation at my #readingwomen2018 for the first time in months. Pleasantly surprised to be able to fill in all but three slots. Starting this one for #truecrime. Not a favourite genre but look at the cover!

Mini book haul! As I'm turning 30 the year after next, I think I need to be reading more diversely and on more social justice topics, so any recommendations on this will be gratefully received so that I can make it part of my reading challenges.