While I wait for your feedback on what kind of posts to focus on this year, I will kick off this year’s posts with a seemingly unusual question: What do you get when you combine history with a murder mystery?
Answer: The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer; a true story of redemption and a well-researched book by Kate Summerscale.
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 openly 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.
At his trial, Robert said it was because their mother had been beating Nattie. Emily was known to vacillate between doting indulgence and violent rages. As he faced the prospect of hanging, he became “skittish, excited”, but despite the urgings of the gutter press, who branded him a “half-formed monster”, the jury was merciful. He was declared insane and sent to Broadmoor, joining 11 other men committed for matricide.
As described in The Economist, late-Victorian Broadmoor is portrayed by Summerscale as a pastoral idyll, where patients, free of all responsibility, entered a “suspended existence, with little reference to the past or the future”. The tranquil setting and dependable pattern of the days seem to have had a steadying effect on Robert. He learned tailoring, and to play the violin and cornet. In 1912, when he was 30, he was released. He emigrated to Australia, then served with distinction as a stretcher-bearer at Gallipoli.
And there this strange tale might end, except that Summerscale is able to add one final, heart-stopping twist, and the murderer Robert Coombes finally wins our admiration and affection.
[tweetthis]The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer[/tweetthis]
Ernesto San Giacomo said:
There are many blog posts concerning New Year’s resolutions, goals, and pleas for more peace and love in the world.
O.K. Nick, so your first blog post of the year is about a rather gruesome story. I hope this isn’t a precursor of more to come during the year. 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – not at all. Besides, it’s really a story of redemption and hope, so you have that 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ernesto San Giacomo said:
Thought you were showing off your dark side. 🙂
BTW: Was “Psycho” inspired by this event?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – not that I know of. But then again, I’d rather let a movie expert like you dig up any connections!
LikeLiked by 1 person
C thehappymeerkat said:
That’s disturbing… And yet I’m interested to go read this now :).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
It was the redemption part of the story that resonated with me. If this boy could be saved, surely there’s hope for all of us yet 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Annette Rochelle Aben said:
Fascinating… I love true stories and even though the subject matter appears to be rather startling, there are so many layers to this story. Thank you for sharing.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you, Annette 🙂 It was the redemption part of the story that resonated with me. If this boy could be saved, surely there’s hope for all of us yet!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Annette Rochelle Aben said:
Amen!
LikeLiked by 1 person
ravenhawks magazine said:
Reblogged this on ravenhawks' magazine.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Don Massenzio said:
Reblogged this on Don Massenzio's Blog and commented:
Check out The Wicked Boy by Kate Summerscale via Nicholas Rossis blog
LikeLiked by 2 people
kirizar said:
Sounds fascinating. I wonder how it compares with the more modern day trial of the Menendez brothers?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I guess one difference is we know how the Wicked Boy ends 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
rijanjks said:
Sounds like a fascinating story. I do so love Historical Fiction!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Same here 🙂
LikeLike
Rae Longest said:
Fascinating review. Great post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you so much, Rae 🙂
LikeLike
Michelle Morrison said:
Victorian times were interesting to say the least. This is fasinating, although it’s disturbing too. I can see how this might happen if there was abuse, but the idea of a child murderer is a challenging concept. It’s bad enough when adults commit murder.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
It’s a shocker all around, which goes to show you: you just can’t make this stuff up!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Mystery Mondays “The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer” | writerchristophfischer
olganm said:
Thanks, Nicholas. It sounds like a must read for me, partly because of the professional connection but it also sounds like a great story. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Super! I hope you enjoy it 🙂
LikeLike