Bloody business: An anecdotal history of Scotland Yard

by H. Paul Jeffers

Book Overview

From Jack the Ripper to the Yorkshire Ripper, the annals of British crime are home to some of the most fascinating and sensational cases in history. Weaving together dozens of cases from the history... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0760712174
• ISBN13: 9780760712177
• Release Date: January 1999
• Publisher: Barnes and Noble
• Length: 278 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

The most sensational UK crimes

I'd like to politely disagree with the previous reviewer: there is PLENTY of "blood and guts" in this book. True, much space is given to the various changes at Scotland Yard - including the formation of new departments, changes in uniform, and changes in the administration - but the weight of the book leans much more toward the dozens of sensational crimes which the Yard has attempted (and usually succeeded) to solve. Nice, basic summaries of the most famous murder cases in Great Britain, with a particular focus on those which took place during the Victorian and Edwardian Eras. Just what this reader wanted! I've been devoting a lot of time recently to reading "literary" true-crime stories from the 1800s and turn-of-the-century, and appreciated this overview of the most sensational ones - many of which I've already read about at length. I borrowed this from the library, but I'll be wanting my own copy as a future reference source. One day I'll probably be researching and writing about one of these British crimes in greater detail than is offered here. I'll just have to pick one from the dozens Jeffers writes about.

Entertaining and Educational History

Bloody Business This history of British crime has some of the most fascinating and sensational cases handled by Scotland Yard. Many works of fiction portray Scotland Yard detectives as slow plodders. Or is this a class-based outlook? This book is about the "sharp-eyed blokes" who solved intricate mysteries, daring crimes, and the bloodiest of murders. It is also the record of balancing law and order with Britain's "ancient and jealously guarded freedoms" (p.4). Chapter 1 tells of finding a body in a car parking lot at Gatwick. In a few hours the victim was identified, the main suspect determined, and an arrest order sent to Massachusetts (p.10). The English system of policing was first left to local authorities, and the constable. Edward I and the Statute of Winchester returned police power to the people who were obliged to carry arms. In 1748 Henry Fielding, the novelist and playwright, was appointed magistrate and began the professional police force known as the "Bow Street Runners" (p.16). In 1829 Robert Peel created the Metropolitan Police for London. It quickly reduced thefts and robberies. The end of the Bow Street Runners eliminated this detective force (p.31). This was followed by creating a detective force in 1842, a plain clothes force. Page 33 tells of the Great Train Robbery (not like the film). Charles Dickens wrote about true crimes, and created England's first fictional detective in "Bleak House" The author explains Sherlock Holmes' comments in "Copper Beeches" as referring to the murder of Harriett Richardson (Chapter 4). The Victorian years were marked by the most hideous crimes. This chapter tells of the murder of Francis Kent. Detective Jonathan Whicher interviewed all the household, and concluded the murderer was Constance, the older step-sister. The court and the press did not agree. Later Constance confessed and was sent to prison. Willkie Collins' "The Moonstone" was inspired by this case, and his "Sergeant Cuff" had the physical description of Sergeant Jonathan Whicher. Another story "ripped from the headlines"? Chapter 5 tells of the first murder to be committed on a train. Detective Dick Tanner followed the clues, then caught a break from a cabman. The suspect, Franz Muller, had sailed to America. Tanner left on a steamship to arrive 2 to 3 weeks before Muller. Muller was arrested, extradited, tried, convicted, and hanged. Chapter 6 has the further developments of the detective force, and some famous murder case of that era. Chapter 7 tells of "Jack the Ripper", who was never caught. Jeffers suggests an immigrant from Eastern Europe, but could he have been literate enough to write the letters? Chapter 10 notes that A. Conan Doyle started the style of a private consulting detective who outperforms the police. The police journal replied that Sherlock did not have to take on all cases, street brawls to knife fights, for workman's wages with a politician looking over his shoulder. But A. Conan Doyle did investigate and sol