Penguin Books
The Wicked Boy: An Infamous Murder in Victorian London
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Winner of the 2017 Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime Book!
From the internationally bestselling author, a deeply researched and atmospheric murder mystery of late Victorian-era London
In the summer of 1895, Robert Coombes (age 13) and his brother Nattie (age 12) were seen spending lavishly around the docklands of East London -- for ten days in July, they ate out at coffee houses and took trips to the seaside and the theater. The boys told neighbors they had been left home alone while their mother visited family in Liverpool, but their aunt was suspicious. When she eventually forced the brothers to open the house to her, she found the badly decomposed body of their mother in a bedroom upstairs. Robert and Nattie were arrested for matricide and sent for trial at the Old Bailey.
Robert confessed to having stabbed his mother, but his lawyers argued that he was insane. Nattie struck a plea and gave evidence against his brother. The court heard testimony about Robert's severe headaches, his fascination with violent criminals and his passion for 'penny dreadfuls', the pulp fiction of the day. He seemed to feel no remorse for what he had done, and neither the prosecution nor the defense could find a motive for the murder. The judge sentenced the thirteen-year-old to detention in Broadmoor, the most infamous criminal lunatic asylum in the land. Yet Broadmoor turned out to be the beginning of a new life for Robert--one that would have profoundly shocked anyone who thought they understood the Wicked Boy.
At a time of great tumult and uncertainty, Robert Coombes's case crystallized contemporary anxieties about the education of the working classes, the dangers of pulp fiction, and evolving theories of criminality, childhood, and insanity. With riveting detail and rich atmosphere, Kate Summerscale recreates this terrible crime and its aftermath, uncovering an extraordinary story of man's capacity to overcome the past.
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Book Details
ISBN:
9780143110460
EAN:
9780143110460
Binding:
Paperback
Pages:
416
Authors:
Kate Summerscale
Publisher:
Penguin Books
Published Date: 2017-04-07
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I agree with some of the reviews that mention the book went into many details not particularly directly relevant to the central story, and I'm not gonna lie, I skimmed the details of the Anzac troops fighting, etc. when I they weren't relevant to the central plot. I do think this book needed a good anti-padding editor. Also, the first third of the book seemed to hint that the younger brother was somehow just as guilty, but that the press made the younger seem innocent and the older the culprit. This issue was never again addressed in the book. I kept looking for the part that specified something of this sort, as the rhetoric of the novel's beginning was clearly pointing in that direction. No mention was made of the issue again. So when I got to the Epilogue, I did enjoy the final story of Robert's redemption, but the text let Nattie the red herring get away.
The beginning of the book was difficult to get through as it was quite dry and introduced a lot of people involved in the court proceedings. I am glad I stuck with it to find out how Robert’s life turned out!
The Wicked Boy had an interesting premise, but the author really had to stretch out the scant details to make it into an entire book. On the plus side, in the beginning of the book the reader sees the titular boy as an evil person who willfully killed his mom. But by the end, it seems much more likely that she had been abusive to him and his brother, and he finally snapped.The sections after the trial were really longer than they needed to be, with lots of unrelated history thrown in. They did, however, showcase that the boy never again harmed anyone. He even went on to become a war hero after his release, and he also rescued an abused boy from his family.So, did he kill his mother in cold blood or had he just reached his limit? No one really knows for sure. That’s the power and the downside of this story.
Unlike other true crime murder stories, this one is ultimately about hope and redemption. Thirteen-year old Robert, who seemed to be without remorse for killing his mother, was committed to an insane asylum. While this book isn’t compelling, I did find it fascinating that Robert took steps to rebuild his life for the better. He became a model patient. The story in this true crime book isn’t about the crime, but how the criminal changed his life after.
I never imagined from the title that I would learn so much: Victorian England, Gallipoli, the early days of the Salvation Army, how well Broadmoor was run, and much more. I was fascinated from start to finish. I am amazed by the amount of research the author took on.
