Murder by the Book

A brilliant piece of literary detective work * Evening Standard *[A] scandalous Victorian mystery… Harman tells the story with clarity and vigour * Guardian Book of the Day *Vivid and punchy * Spectator *[Harman] is a storyteller, with a sense of pace and timing, relish for a good scene and a wry sense of humour * Economist *[A] riveting investigation into a transgression that scandalised the literati of Victorian London in 1840. An engrossing fireside festive treat * The Bookseller *This beautifully produced and impressively researched historical account of a celebrated Victorian murder with a literary twist reads like a thriller. I devoured it in one sitting, and was at once enthralled and chilled. Highly recommended! – Alison WeirA fascinating portrait of Victorian London amid the rising popularity of the novel * The Observer *A riveting investigation into a true and vicious murder that shocked Victorian London * Woman & Home *A fascinating account…. As Harman skilfully reveals, the real story behind the famous murder is the complex one about the harmful influence of fiction on the mind of the reader. * The Times *The book’s heft lies in its rich detail…characters and settings are so vivid that Murder By The Book will surely soon be snatched up by television producers seeking their next Victorian crime drama * Daily Mail *

Claire Harman is the award-winning biographer of Sylvia Townsend Warner (1989), Fanny Burney (2000) and Robert Louis Stevenson (2005), the author of the best-selling Jane’s Fame- How Jane Austen Conquered the World (2009) and of Charlotte Bronte- A Life (2015). She is Professor in Creative Writing at Durham University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

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