Blog
Crime Historian and Author
Investigating historical true crime, Victorian and Edwardian detectives, and the history of forensic science
The Balham Mystery
I am a huge fan of detective fiction and, over the last year, I’ve been reading through Agatha Christie’s iconic stories, in which she mentions several times the real-life case of Charles Bravo, who was poisoned with antimony in 1876 at his home in Balham: It reminds…
Detective Caminada’s ‘Professor Moriarty’
Just like his fictional counterpart, Detective Jerome Caminada had a nemesis. The two men on different sides of the law first crossed paths in 1870, when Caminada was still a beat constable. Almost twenty years later, they would meet in an armed confrontation, with…
The Manchester Cab Mystery
My favourite Victorian detective is Jerome Caminada of the Manchester City Police, a super-sleuth and a real-life Sherlock Holmes. In 1889, he faced his greatest challenge; the Manchester Cab Mystery, for which he would need all the brilliant powers of deduction of…
Memoirs of Manchester’s Sherlock Holmes
When I came across the pioneering detective, Jerome Caminada, whilst researching my family’s roots in Manchester, I immediately bought a copy of the first volume of his memoirs, which was published in 1895 (this was the start of my detective autobiography…
The Nefarious Practices of Quack Doctors
Like Sherlock Holmes, real-life detective Jerome Caminada of the Manchester City Police was a master of disguise. Carrying his clothing in a large bag when travelling by train to other parts of the country, he donned different outfits for undercover work, even using…
The Bermondsey Murder
I’m delighted to share the exciting news that my new book, The Bermondsey Murder: Scotland Yard’s First Great Challenge and Dickens’ Inspiration, has now been published! Fifty-year-old Patrick O’Connor was seen for the last time on 9 August. Originally from Ireland,…
