I’ve been pondering over which genre to write about this month. We’ve done the classics, horror, and biography countless times. But as spooky season rolls in, I wanted to stay on theme, so what better genre to get you in the mood for all things Halloween than true crime?
Here’s a selection of true-crime books to get stuck into this month:
‘The Five’ by Hallie Rubenhold
This book takes a different approach to one of history’s most infamous crimes. Rather than focusing on Jack the Ripper, Rubenhold reconstructs the lives of the five women traditionally associated with the murders: Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly. Through extensive research, she moves beyond the familiar headlines to explore who these women really were – their families, work, relationships and the circumstances that shaped their lives. This is a fascinating and often moving reminder of how easily individuals can disappear behind the crimes committed against them, and a compelling piece of social history in its own right. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in historical crime.
‘Inside Broadmoor’ by Jonathan Levi & Emma French
Levi explores the history of one of Britain’s most notorious psychiatric hospitals. Opened in 1863 as the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, the institution housed people who had been deemed criminally insane, including some of the most infamous names in British criminal history. The book combines the stories of individual patients with the wider history of Broadmoor itself, exploring changing attitudes towards mental illness, crime and punishment. The result is a fascinating look at an institution that sits somewhere between hospital, prison and Victorian social experiment. For anyone interested in true crime, but wants a book with depth, this is particularly good.
‘Court Number One’ by Thomas Grant
In this book, we are offered a fascinating look into the history of Britain’s most famous courtroom. Located at the Old Bailey, Court Number One has witnessed some of the country’s most notorious and sensational trials, bringing together murderers, politicians, spies and other figures whose cases captured the public imagination over the last century. Rather than simply recounting individual crimes, Grant uses these trials to explore how British justice has developed and how society’s attitudes towards crime and punishment have changed over time. With a mixture of legal history and true crime, the book provides an engaging insight into the people and cases that have passed through one of Britain’s most recognisable courts. A truly fascinating read that takes the true-crime genre to a more narrative level.
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