Murder Maps

A cartographic exposition of the 19th century’s most dramatic and intriguing murders from the world’s most crime-ridden cities and regions.

The most captivating and intriguing 19th-century murders from around the world are re-examined in this disquieting volume, which takes readers on a perilous journey around the world’s most benighted regions. In each area, murders are charted with increasing specificity: beginning with city- or region-wide overviews, drilling down to street-level diagrams and zooming-in to detailed floor plans. All the elements of each crime are meticulously replotted on archival maps, from the prior movements of both killer and victim to the eventual location of the body.

The murders revisited range from the ‘French Ripper’ Joseph Vacher, who roamed the French countryside brutally murdering and mutilating over twenty shepherds and shepherdesses, to H.H. Holmes, who built a hotel in Chicago to entrap, murder and dispose of its many guests. Crime expert Dr Drew Gray illuminates the details of each case, recounting both the horrifying particulars of the crimes themselves and the ingenious detective work that led to the eventual capture of the murderers. He highlights the development of police methods and technology: from the introduction of the police whistle to the standardization of the mugshot and from the invention of fingerprinting to the use of radio telegraphy to capture criminals. Disturbing crime-scene photographs by pioneers of policework, such as Alphonse Bertillon, and contemporary illustrations from the sensationalist magazines of the day, including the Illustrated Police News and the Petit Journal, complete the macabre picture.

About the Author

Dr Drew Gray is a social historian of the 18th and 19th centuries, specializing in the history of crime and punishment. He has written extensively on this subject, including for his recently published book proposing a new suspect for the Jack the Ripper murders. Gray is also the author of 'The Police Magistrate', a daily blog deciphering Victorian crime, and is a member of the editorial board of The London Journal and a fellow of the Royal Historical Society. At the University of Northampton he teaches on both the History and Criminology programmes, and is subject lead for History.