The Victorian Detective

This book explores the development of the professional detective during the nineteenth century, giving examples of the methods he used to track down criminals and to convict them of offences ranging from petty theft to brutal murder. At the dawn of the Victorian age there was effectively no police detective force in Britain and detecting methods were rudimentary. By the end of Victoria’s reign the Criminal Investigation Department had been established and basic forensic tests were in use. This book explores the development of the professional detective during the nineteenth century, giving examples of the methods he used to track down criminals and to convict them of offences ranging from petty theft to brutal murder. It also explores:- the development of forensics, from fingerprinting to tests that could identify whether or not blood was human- mysteries such as the Jack the Ripper murders- the work of famous sleuths like the ‘Prince of Detectives’ Jonathan Whicher – the real-life counterpart of the legendary Sherlock Holmes.