Book info

• Title A Very British Murder
• Author Lucy Worsley
• Year 2013
• Genre History

This is the story of a national obsession. Ever since the Ratcliffe Highway Murders caused a nation-wide panic in Regency England, the British have taken an almost ghoulish pleasure in 'a good murder'. This fascination helped create a whole new world of entertainment, inspiring novels, plays and films, puppet shows, paintings and true-crime journalism - as well as an army of fictional detectives who still enthrall us today. A Very British Murder is Lucy Worsley's captivating account of this curious national obsession. It is a tale of dark deeds and guilty pleasures, a riveting investigation into the British soul by one of our finest historians.

Thoughts

I didn’t actually watch the TV show that is associated with this book, but I do like Lucy Worsley so dipped into this on a cold, rainy day. That’s fitting for the genre, as this non-fiction piece charts how the great British public became hooked on murder mysteries, found detective stories impossible to put down and eventually turned to the TV to fill our whodunit needs.

The story feels a little unstructured in places, it’s clearly following the timeline of murders that gained popularity, but there isn’t really too much information about why, merely pointing at the things that stand out along the way. I guess we don’t know why such things capture our imagination quite the way I do.

Still, it’s an interesting read, but be warned: there are heaps of spoilers for books, films and TV shows. Read carefully if you want to avoid such things.

Rating: 3 / 5