The Victorian Era Murder Mystery or Murder by Gaslight genre has its roots in the pulp rags of the Gilded Age when Penny Dreadfuls were all the rage. It was of course, during this time that Jack the Ripper preyed on the women of Whitechapel and the wealth disparity was ripe for corruption and desperation.
This was the period that gave rise to the murder mystery and the crime drama. Partly because of the sensationalized crimes being used to sell papers and partly because the Metropolitan Police Force formed its own investigation department in 1842. The creation of these detectives gave the public an opportunity to become professional sleuths, giving them a burgeoning appetite for crime fiction. An appetite that was satisfied by the writing of Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Allen Poe and Wilkie Collins.
If you’re into Gilded Age murder, the website murderbygaslight.com is great. They cover all sorts of historical serial killers and sensational stories of the time. The artwork in the posts they have are great too. It’s old school black and white illustrations that remind me of pulp illustrations of the era like this one:
Here’s some other books and TV show’s we’re into which fall into the Murder by Gaslight category.
Non-Fiction
Murder and Mayhem in Boston by Christopher Daley and Catherine Reusch Daley.
I grabbed this book because well, I’m from Massachusetts and I’ll read anything historical about the area. It was a fun read and when I read it on the subway on my way to work, nobody seemed to want to bother me. They have multiple cases from the Boston area during that time with each chapter covering a different case.
While these crimes don’t all take place during the 1800s (the last chapter covers a man who called himself ‘The Giggler’ in the 1960s and probably watched too much Adam West Batman) they’re all interesting and well researched.
The Island of Vice by Richard Zacks
Is about Teddy Roosevelts work as an appointed NYPD commissioner when he tried to enforce the shutting down of neighborhood saloons in New York City on Sundays, the working classes only day off.
New York’s Finest during the Gilded Age was incredibly bent, taking bribes and working as bagmen for Saloons, Brothels and Casinos all over the island of Manhattan. Teddy, looking for a fight and to make a name for himself tried to clean up the town, shutting down establishments that sold suds without food. Which was why people would stand at the bar and knock back beers with a stale untouched sandwich in front of them.
Teddy tried and failed to take on Tammany Hall and fun. He eventually left his post when he was offered a job as Assistant Secretary of the Navy which he later left to fight a war in Cuba.
The Last Pirate of New York by Richard Cohen
Richard Cohen went looking for New York City’s first gangster. The OG of New York also happened to be its last pirate. Murder, seedy Dickensian characters, and a young city of New York come to life in this book. If you like Gangs of New York, this is right up your ally.
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Considered America’s first serial killer, Larson’s account of H.H. Holmes murder mansion intercut with the 1893 World’s Fair is great. Larson does a great job with narrative non-fiction and he has a ton of great books that are all a pleasure to read for the history nerd such as myself. Whether he’s talking about H. H. Holmes or architect Daniel Burnham’s work on the World’s Fair, you’ll be engaged.
The Five by Hallie Rubenhold
This book follows the lives of “the canonical five” of the Jack the Ripper murders from birth to their untimely deaths. It’s amazing that a book like this hasn’t been done in the 130 years since the murders, it’s also sadly telling. What you wont read about in this book is detailed accounts of the murders, or any educated guesses or stabs in the dark about who the killer may have been.
This book is about the women who died in Whitechapel, and how they were unfairly judged after the horrific murders. For instance, none of them were prostitutes. They were mostly just homeless women without a place to go and were more than likely sleeping when they were murdered by an opportunistic psychopath. I highly recommend this one.
Last Podcast on the Left
If you want to learn more about Jack the Ripper, Last Podcast on the Left did a great job tackling that subject in a 5 part series. And here’s some of the books they got their source material from.
- Capturing Jack the Ripper: In the Boots of a Bobby in Victorian London by Neil R. A. Bell
- The Jack the Ripper Files: The Illustrated History of the Whitechapel Murders by Richard Jones
- From Hell by Alan Moore
Fiction
The Alienist by Caleb Carr
The first in a series of books that features the young Police Commissioner, Teddy Roosevelt. Where Island of Vice talks about Roosevelt’s attempt at closing down brothels and saloons. The Alienist is a story about Teddy and the famous fictional alienist, Laszlo Kreizler hunting down a serial killer in 1896. The series is great and there’s was recently a TV series with Dakota Fanning adapted from these books.
The Yard by Alex Grecian
Alex Grecian’s – Scotland Yard’s Murder Squad books are awesome. Following the Metropolitan Police Force of Victorian Era London after the Jack the Ripper murders. Starting with The Yard, this series is a lot of fun and quick to read.
Like the books by Alex Grecian, Ripper Street takes place post-Saucy Jack and follows the Metropolitan Police Force constantly being reminded about their ineptitude in arresting him. Also, it’s got Bronn from Game of Thrones so there’s that.
Gotham by Gaslight by Brian Augustyn and Mike Mignola
Gotham by Gaslight features a Victorian Era Batman fighting Jack the Ripper in 1880’s Gotham City. In my opinion this is the best of the “Elseworlds” stories. I know they came out with an animated feature of this recently but I really want to see this in live action. Illustrated by Mike Mignola (Hellboy’s creator), everything about Gotham by Gaslight is awesome.
