19th Century Barnsley Murders is a telling account of crimes in the Barnsley area that have remained unpublished for more than a century. The book reveals the dark heart of the town and reflects not only the poverty and squalor in which many people of the time lived, but also the deep-rooted prejudices and double standards of the period. Crimes include poaching in the local area, a serious poisoning of bread and butter pudding at an eating house and the tragic story of a man who was poisoned for a joke. More sinister happenings include a case of body snatching, which brought the whole town of Barnsley to a state of complete panic, the distressing murder of a child, and a woman who was shot down in the street by her former marine boyfriend. The book also charts cases of attempted murder, including the story of a woman who was saved from death by her stays and a brutal attack on an elderly lady, which might so easily have ended in murder. These macabre tales reveal a side of Barnsley that is not visible in the modern town of today. The intriguing narrative and in-depth coverage of Barnsley's criminal past make this essential reading for both local historians and those interested in true crime.

Progress can be unstoppable at times, and not even death can prevent the desire for knowledge. A dark trade has long existed to provide fuel for the fires of research, a trade which is viewed by many as the most despicable occupation of all.The resurrection men of Yorkshire came from all walks of life, and employed a myriad of macabre methods to raise their defenseless prey from beneath the consecrated ground. This was a trade which offered great reward, but was definitely not for the faint of heart.Throughout this journey into the dark past of Yorkshire, we meet an infamous celebrity who made an unexpected reappearance, a traveling minstrel who was to become the talk of many towns, a child whose death was just the beginning of a tragic tale, and a holy man who helped a community but earned his own illicit rewards in return.Also to be raised from the dead are a number of explosive events, all of which lit a fire beneath the local communities and led the people of Yorkshire to the streets in violent protest. A medical school reduced to ashes, a gang of professionals moonlighting in the darkest occupation, and a scandal which would engulf a city many years after the threat of the body snatchers had been all but ended.Spanning over almost three centuries, this grim compendium of tales casts a shadow over the beauty of Yorkshire, a dark veil which reaches out in all directions, threatening the peace of the dearly departed across the length and breadth of the nations largest county.

Sheffield born actor and author Geoffrey Howse delves into his files covering over 200 years of Sheffield's criminality. In Murder & Mayhem in Sheffield he takes a look at some of the events that took place during a period of enormous growth within Sheffield; including a failed plot to murder some of Sheffield's officials, take control of the Town Hall and set fire to the homes of prominent citizens; the series of incidents known as the Sheffield Outrages are also mentioned, as are the notorious Sheffield Gang Wars of the 1920's. Murders from the eighteenth century through to 1947 are covered, including he fascinating case of one of Britain's most notorious murderers, Charlie Peace. The gruesome Shelf Street Hatchet Murder of 1881, is also included as are the Woodhouse Murder of 1893 and the Chinese Laundry Murder of 1922. Two Sheffield murderers who bore the same name, William Smedley, and who were both hanged for their crimes, committed murder in 1875 and 1947 respectively, are also featured. Although not for the feint-hearted, this book is sure to capture the curiosity of all individuals with an interest in the social and criminal history of Sheffield.'

When Jack the Ripper first prowled the streets of London, an evening newspaper commented that his crimes were as ghastly as those committed by Eliza Grimwood's murderer fifty years earlier. Hers is arguably the most infamous and brutal of all nineteenth-century London killings. Eliza was a high-class prostitute, and on 26 May 1838, following an evening at the theatre, she brought a 'client' back to her home in Waterloo Road. The morning after, she was found with her throat cut and her abdomen viciously 'ripped'. The client was nowhere to be seen. The ensuing murder investigation was convoluted, with suspects ranging from an alcoholic bricklayer to a royal duke. Londoners from all walks of life followed the story with a horror and fascination – among them Charles Dickens, who took inspiration from Eliza's death when he wrote the murder of Nancy in Oliver Twist. Despite this feverish interest, the case was left unsolved, becoming the subject of 'penny dreadfuls' and urban legend. Unusually for a crime of this early period, the diary of the police officer leading the investigation has been preserved for posterity, and Jan Bondeson takes full advantage of this unique access to a Victorian murder inquiry. Skilfully dissecting what evidence remains, he links this murder with a series of other opportunist early Victorian slayings, and, in putting forward a credible new suspect, concludes that the Ripper of Waterloo Road was, in fact, a serial killer claiming as many as four victims.

“A tour de force of storytelling.” —Louise Penny, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Chief Inspector Gamache series “Jobb’s excellent storytelling makes the book a pleasure to read.” —The New York Times Book Review ”When a doctor does go wrong he is the first of criminals,” Sherlock Holmes observed during one of his most baffling investigations. “He has nerve and he has knowledge.” In the span of fifteen years, Dr. Thomas Neill Cream murdered as many as ten people in the United States, Britain, and Canada, a death toll with almost no precedent. Poison was his weapon of choice. Largely forgotten today, this villain was as brazen as the notorious Jack the Ripper. Structured around the doctor’s London murder trial in 1892, when he was finally brought to justice, The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream exposes the blind trust given to medical practitioners, as well as the flawed detection methods, bungled investigations, corrupt officials, and stifling morality of Victorian society that allowed Dr. Cream to prey on vulnerable and desperate women, many of whom had turned to him for medical help. Dean Jobb transports readers to the late nineteenth century as Scotland Yard traces Dr. Cream’s life through Canada and Chicago and finally to London, where new investigative tools called forensics were just coming into use, even as most police departments still scoffed at using science to solve crimes. But then, most investigators could hardly imagine that serial killers existed—the term was unknown. As the Chicago Tribune wrote, Dr. Cream’s crimes marked the emergence of a new breed of killer: one who operated without motive or remorse, who “murdered simply for the sake of murder.” For fans of Erik Larson’s The Devil in the White City, all things Sherlock Holmes, or the podcast My Favorite Murder, The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream is an unforgettable true crime story from a master of the genre.

Whilst the passage of time can and has uncovered many secrets, killers could get away with their crimes in 1596 when Shakespeare penned these words and this is certainly the case in more recent times as Unsolved Murders in South Yorkshire clearly demonstrate.The early chapters include cases of historic interest where killers certainly went to the grave in the knowledge they had got away with murder. Cases include suspicious deaths which left detectives in South Yorkshire baffled, but which were, it would seem, acts of callous murder which were not recognised as such due to dubious police opinions and practices. There are also cases of clear murder such as a man shot in the head during the Victorian period, whose killer was never identified.The later chapters, however, feature more recent cold cases where there is still the possibility that the wicked men or women who were responsible for such acts of inhumanity may remain within our society.Cases include a man murdered for less than 70 in a city centre multi storey car park, a teenage girl abducted, sexually assaulted and left dead on a dung hill, a young mother who entered prostitution and died at the hands of a man with more than sex on his mind, a pregnant woman who left home one day to go shopping but was found days later dead in a ditch with her throat cut and a disabled woman who was strangled in her home which was then set ablaze.For some of these cases there is the chance that someone has information which, despite the passage of decades, could lead to one or more individuals standing trial for murder. Justice can still prevail.

A captivating history of a notorious neighborhood and the first book to reveal why London's East End became synonymous with lawlessness and crime Even before Jack the Ripper haunted its streets for prey, London's East End had earned a reputation for immorality, filth, and vice. John Bennett, a writer and tour guide who has walked and researched the area for more than thirty years, delves into four centuries of history to chronicle the crimes, their perpetrators, and the circumstances that made the East End an ideal breeding ground for illegal activity. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Britain's industrial boom drew thousands of workers to the area, leading to overcrowding and squalor. But crime in the area flourished long past the Victorian period. Drawing on original archival history and featuring a fascinating cast of characters including the infamous Ripper, highwayman Dick Turpin, the Kray brothers, and a host of ordinary evildoers, this gripping and deliciously unsavory volume will fascinate Londonphiles and true crime lovers alike.

Indexes the Times, Sunday times and magazine, Times literary supplement, Times educational supplement, Times educational supplement Scotland, and the Times higher education supplement.