Victorian Police

Kate Ardleigh is everything the Victorian English gentlewoman is not - outspoken, free-thinking, American...and a writer of the frowned upon penny dreadfuls. Soon after her arrival in Essex, England, a body is unearthed in a nearby archeological dig - and Kate has the chance to not only research her latest story but to begin her first case with amateur detective Sir Charles Sheridan.

Secrets of the Royal Detective: Self Education for the Police 1899: This amazing document was located in my great grandfather's personal effects about 90 years after his death. He was a former Royal Detective or protection officer - and a detective superintendent with Manchester Police - during the harsh Victorian & Edwardian development of policing in Manchester until 1914. This is a unique guideline for all policing during this period and contains a rare glimpse into what was expected of the policeman of that era. It is in effect a 'Bobbys' Bible' and the contents were expected to be ...

This is the unique and personal story written by the great grandson of a former Victorian beat ‘Bobby’ who progressed through the ranks to eventually become the very first Royal Detective. James Wood, a former ‘sharp shooter’ in Queen Victoria’s mighty Army of the Empire, joined Manchester City Police force to become the youngest ever Superintendent in their history - and was also a highly acclaimed ‘thief taker,’ something of a bounty-hunter. For many years around the turn of the century, he helped protect a number of prominent VIP’s and several visiting members of the ...

“Watson, there is not a moment to lose. If you care to join the chase, pack your bag at once!” Likewise, enthusiasts of the greatest detective will not want to miss this opportunity to join Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson in a whirlwind of exciting new adventures… A daring thief penetrates the defenses of the Tower of London in search of a secret treasure. A profligate young actor is accused of murdering his exemplary sibling. From the safe of a prominent London banker, a priceless heirloom is stolen. Upon a high cliff, a ghostly assassin commits an impossible murder. A kingpin of ...

Hours later, the man’s cold body lies in the city mortuary, alongside the woman he couldn’t save. And his sister, unconventional nurse Gemma Tate, tracks down troubled police inspector Sebastian Bell to unravel the truth. Sebastian has enough pressure to solve the murder of an aristocratic heiress without Gemma meddling in his case. But the cryptic sentences she brings him from her brother’s notebook could be a crucial lead. If only they knew what “milky way” meant.

London, 1893: High up in a house on a dark, snowy night, a lone seamstress stands by a window. So begins the swirling, serpentine world of Paraic O'Donnell's Victorian-inspired mystery, the story of a city cloaked in shadow but burning with questions: Why does the seamstress choose to jump out of that window? Why is there a cryptic message sewn into her skin? And how is she connected to a rash of missing girls, all of whom seem to have disappeared under similar circumstances?

Before Jack the Ripper terrorised London, Police Inspector Samuel Ravenscroft patrolled the streets of Whitechapel. Clever and hard-working, Ravenscroft nonetheless has the worst record in the force. He lets a murderer escape during a chase and is banished to the spa town of Malvern for a water treatment to cure his asthma. Ravenscroft accepts a dinner invitation from a new acquaintance, Jabez Pitzer. Before dinner, the maid finds Pitzer slumped over his desk - dead. Ravenscroft immediately recognises the signs - Pitzer has been poisoned.

In 1882, Lady Felicity Armstrong finds herself in a precarious position after her stepmother's shocking murder leaves her with barely enough income to survive. As she navigates the grim realities of life at Rosendale Manor, a hidden treasure in her birth mother’s dressing table ignites a flicker of hope for a brighter future. Unfortunately, Felicity must leave her childhood home and is forced to accept residence in a rustic cottage in the village of Tolwich. With the help of her spirited maid, Millie, Felicity learns to adapt to a life stripped of luxury. When an old acquaintance, Lord ...

The brutal murder of septuagenarian John Templeman shocks the little cottage community of Pocock's Fields. Rumours of illicit affairs, army desertion and violent confrontations spread as the community waits to see who will be sent to trial. An extraordinary power struggle develops between the Coroner, leading the Inquest, and the Police Magistrate, leading the Inquiry. As the case reaches a crisis point, just how far will the authorities be willing to go to bring the perpetrator to justice?

Edinburgh, 1869: Modern-day homicide detective Mallory Atkinson is adjusting to her new life in Victorian Scotland. Her employers know she’s not housemaid Catriona Mitchell—even though Mallory is in Catriona’s body—and Mallory is now officially an undertaker’s assistant. Dr. Duncan Gray moonlights as a medical examiner, and their latest case hits close to home. Men are dropping dead from a powerful poison, and all signs point to the grieving widows… the latest of which is Gray’s oldest sister. Poison is said to be a woman’s weapon, though Mallory has to wonder if it’s as simple as that.

This is the true story about one of the most successful Victorian Detectives, who worked in Manchester between 1868-1899. Many of his stories and case notes were said to have been reviewed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as the inspiration for his famous Sherlock Holmes character and series of stories. Set in and around the north west, it recalls the harsh brutally of Victorian England and shows how policemen and particularly detectives of that era had to be rough, tough and ruthless to survive. Caminda was feared by villains and carried a silver Colt 38 pistol.

BRITISH LEGAL HISTORY - The Fielding Brothers & Bow Street Runners - the early days and beginnings of policing in England with the infamous Fielding Brothers, the early Bow Street Runners, Robert Peel, Jerome Caminada, and other brutal crime fighters, covering highway robberies, gruesome murders, street crime and a host of dangerous attacks on society. A fascinating slice of legal history and nostalgia, featuring Victorian & Edwardian Manchester crime.

London, 1851. With the opening of the Great Exhibition at hand, interest in mounting in the engineering triumphs of the railways, but not everyone feels like celebrating. In an audacious attack, the London to Birmingham mail train is robbed and derailed, causing many casualties. Planned with military precision, this crime proves a challenge to Detective Inspector Robert Colbeck who fights to untangle a web of murder, blackmail and destruction.

Thomas Pitt, mainstay of Her Majesty’s Special Branch, is summoned to Connaught Square mansion, where the body of a junior diplomat lies huddled in a wheelbarrow. Nearby stands the tenant of the house, the beautiful, notorious Egyptian woman Ayesha Zakhari, who falls under the shadow of suspicion. Pitt’s orders are to protect—at all costs—the good name of the third person in the garden: senior cabinet minister Saville Ryerson. The distinguished public servant, whispered to be Ayesha’s lover, insists that she is as innocent as Pitt himself.

A fascinating insight into the life of some famous Manchester Victorians (or Mancunians) - as they were called. They include Arthur Balfour the former Prime Minister, Alfred Harmsworth - later to be known as Lord Northcliffe of newspaper fame, Ned Hulton, Jerome Caminada, and details about the popular Belle Vue Pyrodramas and their re-enactment of some of the great South African battles of Queen Victoria's Army of the Empire. They were sometimes known as 'Fire in the Park' and included parts played by real Zulu's such as Kumalo.

Historical Adventure Novel set in the remote Northern Rockies during the late 19th century. In the rugged wilderness of the northern Rockies, Corporal David Dexter of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police embarks on what he believes to be a routine patrol. The discovery of his fellow officer, Constable Tommy Graves, brutally murdered, sets off a chain of events that plunges Dexter into a web of deceit, danger, and secrecy. Determined to find his comrade's killer, Dexter explores the clues left behind, including a photograph of the notorious criminal "Pink" Crill. His investigation leads him to ...

London, June 1860: When an assassination attempt is made on Queen Victoria, and a petty thief is gruesomely murdered moments later - and only a block away - Chief Detective Inspector Charles Field quickly surmises that these crimes are connected to an even more sinister plot. Was Victoria really the assassin's target? Are those closest to the Crown hiding something? Soon, Field's investigation exposes a shocking conspiracy in which the publication of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species sets off a string of murders, arson, kidnapping, and the pursuit of a diabolical madman.

Rayner the middle years is the sequel to ‘Rayner the early years’ a fictional biography of arguably the most popular Scotland Yard detective being the principle subject in the Victorian Detective’s Casebook series by the same author. In the second part of the story, Richard Rayner has left Oxford and joined the Metropolitan Police only to find his ambition to be a detective is not as easy as he had once thought. A number of incidents tend to obstruct his career path, including working for a Sergeant who has an unusual way of disciplining his men, and having to face false accusations ...

It is the summer of 1871 when Scotland Yard's Inspector Ben Ross pays a visit to Jacob Jacobus, the old rogue of Limehouse: infamous antiquarian, friend to villains, and informer to the police. Ben hopes to glean information about any burglaries that might take place now that the wealthiest echelons of society are back in London for the season.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are about to face off... Mr. Edward Hyde is slowly taking over Dr. Jekyll’s body and committing unspeakable acts while possessing him. Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein is working on improving a serum to prevent Hyde from overtaking Jekyll completely and becoming the most notorious serial killer of all time. Have no fear, Abraham Van Helsing is on the case. With help from Mina Harker, Lilith and Adam (Frankenstein) can he save the people of London from the monster that is extinguishing one life after another? Will they stop Hyde before he consumes Dr. Jekyll completely? ...