The Hunt for Dr and Cora Crippen

The Hunt for Dr and Cora Crippen

by | | Crime history, Victorian detectives

I first read about the infamous Dr Crippen when I was researching the work of the Scotland Yard detective, Walter Dew, who wrote about his investigation into this notorious homicide in his memoirs. Since then, I’ve given talks on this fascinating case, which includes...
On the Trail of Florence Maybrick

On the Trail of Florence Maybrick

by | | Crime history

The intriguing case of convicted Liverpool poisoner Florence Maybrick was the first historical murder that drew my attention, after watching a documentary on her story some 20 years ago. I was so fascinated that I started researching Victorian murder for the very...
The Liverpool Poisoners

The Liverpool Poisoners

by | | Crime history

While I was leafing through the Liverpool Watch Committee minutes for my doctoral research, I came across a rather intriguing handbill about the death of Thomas Higgins due to arsenic poisoning. It was tucked away in between the pages of the ledger with no reference...
The Murder that Created Scotland Yard

The Murder that Created Scotland Yard

by | | Victorian detectives

One of my most exciting moments whilst researching detective history for my PhD at the National Archives was holding the list of the first Scotland Yard detectives in my hand. Although it is a rather unprepossessing handwritten document, seeing the names of some of...
L’Affaire Lafarge

L’Affaire Lafarge

by | | French crime history

Forensic toxicology is one of the most intriguing areas of crime history, and the detection of arsenic poisoning holds a grim fascination to this day. I’ve combined my interest in historical poisoning cases (I do have a small collection of poison bottles in my...