The Suspicions Of Mr Whicher: Or The Murder At Road Hill House By Kate Summerscale

By now you will know that I have a love of the traditional English country house murder. You know the sort, a full cast of likely perpetrators with a nosey old lady and at least one retired Major thrown in. Road Hill House was a real family home and there was a real murder committed there in 1860. The book reads like a fictional murder, following Mr Whicher of the title as he tries to work out who the culprit was and bring them to justice. This book covers crime, social history and literary history and so is a little bit of an odd mix.

The murder itself is brutal, and I am sure most readers will be able to work out who the murderer is very quickly, although what is intriguing about this book is not the murder, but society's reaction to it. This was really the first time that the press had engaged in such a crime and whipped the public into a frenzy over it. The case was followed closely by the writers of the time, and the author cleverly shows how these budding crime writers were influenced by this real life case. The prose is littered with references for further reading. some of which I have gone on to read and can see how the case at Road Hill House translated into their stories. There is an enormous amount of detail about all of the people who appear in the case, and it has clearly be researched down to the finest detail.

This book seems to polarise readers, they seem to either love it or hate it. If you want a good solid murder with an intricate plot which is summed up around a fireplace with all the suspects spilling their secrets, you will be disappointed. If you want to learn where writers such as Wilkie Collins found some of their inspiration, and understand something more about Victorian society then this is a great read.

Has anyone else read this? I'd love to know how you felt about the ending. We'll have to dust off the spoiler tags though!

Nellie said:

If you want a good solid murder with an intricate plot which is summed up around a fireplace with all the suspects spilling their secrets, you will be disappointed.

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I was disappointed.

Did you enjoy any part of the book? I agree, the murder was not really that interesting, but I though the social aspect to it was great.

I read about half way through and skip read the rest because I knew who done it.

The social aspect to it was good, but I suppose I bought it as a sort of Victorian who done it, rather than an I know who did it.

It was badly advertised and maybe a bit misleading from the readers point of view. But for the publishers, I guess it sold more copies.

I think you are right when you say the advertising was a little misleading. I was assuming the same as you, that it would be a Victorian murder mystery and it wasn't like that at all. That said I enjoyed it, but not for the reasons I thought.

Have you read Bleeding Heart Square by Andrew Taylor?

It's a Dickensian mystery thriller and it even has a gloomy lodging house and an old lady, according to the synopsis.

I bought it a couple of months ago but have yet to read it.

That sounds really good. I have added it to my "want to read" list :flowers:

I thought it was really interesting. I liked the way everything was put into historical and social context and I liked the fact that at the end it was not completely proven that the main suspect was guilty (although quite clearly was.)

I only found the actual discovery of the body and description of the murder a bit grim, probably because I have a three year old son, so it was a bit too morbid for me. I had to give my son a big cuddle after reading those chapters (

Snork Maiden said:

I only found the actual discovery of the body and description of the murder a bit grim, probably because I have a three year old son, so it was a bit too morbid for me. I had to give my son a big cuddle after reading those chapters (

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I agree, it was rather nasty, but I guess it reflects the reality of the situation. It's not a "cosy" Christie-esque murder, thats for sure.

I read The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher last year, and while I did in the end enjoy it, there was a section in the middle that almost made me throw it aside. I was glad I didn't though as the social commentary was fascinating, as well as what previous posters have mentioned, i.e. the writers like Wilkie Collins being influenced.

When we realize how far we've come in crime scene investigation in the last 150 years, it's mind boggling. Now there would be a plethora of forensic evidence to point the way to the killer. Not to mention proof positive that could not be denied.

Also I appreciated the author's lack of sensationalism. This could have been portrayed in a far more gruesome manner than it was. She had a matter of fact, no nonsense approach.