A Very British Murder
1 journaler for this copy...
Well, I was given this a few Christmases ago and clearly forgot to register at the time.
I remember seeing some of this series when it was on a few years ago, which is the original reason why I wanted to read the companion book. That and that Lucy Worsley is rather fabulous, with something of a mischevious school girl delighting in everything.
This is not particularly about murders themselves or historical murders or murder stories persee, although all of these things are appearing in the book. Rather this is about the British fascination with murder, and gore and all that malarky, and how it has developed and changed over the couple of centuries Worsley looks at in the book. Back in the good old days before police forces and forensic science and the horrific though that the murder scene could be a good day out - hundreds of people trotting through the crime scene for a good day out. Or that the ceramics industry produced cups with murderers on, or brightly coloured ornaments of crime scenes, victims, murderers... something nice for the mantlepiece?! And not just viewing, but wanting keepsakes. One particular murder at a red barn saw the said barn essentially picked apart by souvenoir hunters - sick as that may seem, not as tragic as the fact that the gravestone of said victim was whittled away to nothing by people wanting a chip off the gravestone to take home with them. The fascination in disaster and the morbid and disrespectful bystander seems to be a part of human nature rather than a recent occurance.
She also takes us through the emergence of popular fiction and how murder appeared and the styles changed over the decades. Which, admittedly has now increased my reading wish list massively.
It is an overview on the subject, and very good light, entertaining reading it is too. And if you find yourself fascinated, there are book recommendations for more detailed reading.
This is not particularly about murders themselves or historical murders or murder stories persee, although all of these things are appearing in the book. Rather this is about the British fascination with murder, and gore and all that malarky, and how it has developed and changed over the couple of centuries Worsley looks at in the book. Back in the good old days before police forces and forensic science and the horrific though that the murder scene could be a good day out - hundreds of people trotting through the crime scene for a good day out. Or that the ceramics industry produced cups with murderers on, or brightly coloured ornaments of crime scenes, victims, murderers... something nice for the mantlepiece?! And not just viewing, but wanting keepsakes. One particular murder at a red barn saw the said barn essentially picked apart by souvenoir hunters - sick as that may seem, not as tragic as the fact that the gravestone of said victim was whittled away to nothing by people wanting a chip off the gravestone to take home with them. The fascination in disaster and the morbid and disrespectful bystander seems to be a part of human nature rather than a recent occurance.
She also takes us through the emergence of popular fiction and how murder appeared and the styles changed over the decades. Which, admittedly has now increased my reading wish list massively.
It is an overview on the subject, and very good light, entertaining reading it is too. And if you find yourself fascinated, there are book recommendations for more detailed reading.
