Victorian Police

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 ...

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 ...

“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, 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.

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 ...

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? 

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.

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? ...

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.

This audiobook presents a fundamental reinterpretation of changes to crime control in the age of the new police. It breaks new ground by providing a highly detailed, empirical analysis of everyday crime control in Victorian provincial cities - revealing the tremendous activity that ordinary people displayed in responding to crime - alongside a rich survey of police organization and policing in practice. 

London, 1882. Alec Lonsdale, a young reporter on the Pall Mall Gazette, is working on a story about a fatal house fire. But the postmortem on the victim produces shocking results: Patrick Donovan's death was no accident. But why would someone murder a humble shop assistant and steal part of his brain? When a second body is discovered, its throat cut, and then a third, Lonsdale and his spirited female colleague, Hulda Friederichs, begin to uncover evidence of a conspiracy that reaches to the highest echelons of Victorian society.

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 ...

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?

Two young women uncover the deadly secrets of a legendary estate—and their own dark bond—in this delicious historical thriller inspired by the mysterious origins of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, and as could only be penned by the award-winning author of A Haunting on the Hill. It's the 1920s...

Detective Inspector Arthur Gredge of Scotland Yard is a changed man, and not for the better, it seems. The prime suspect in a terrible crime he did not commit, Gredge launches an impassioned defense. The problem is that he does not know if he is guilty or innocent. Midnight Gunn must uncover the cause of Gredge’s unsettling behavior before the inspector loses his mind, his job, or very possibly his life. It is a task that must be conducted with the utmost caution, as Midnight’s own conduct comes under close scrutiny from all directions, putting him and those he loves at risk.

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 ...

Cops and Criminals in Russia, edited by Colin Heston, brings together a gripping collection of early detective fiction set within the shadowy world of imperial Russia’s secret police. Featuring Dick Donovan’s celebrated tales—The Chronicles of Michael Danevitch of the Russian Secret Service and The Clue of the Dead Hand—this volume offers readers a rare glimpse into a world where crime, espionage, and state power are inseparably entwined. At the center of these stories stands Michael Danevitch, a master investigator navigating a landscape of conspiracies, political intrigue, and ...

The untold story of the Edinburgh doctor who became Arthur Conan Doyle's model for Sherlock Holmes, and his adventures in the criminal underworld of Victorian Britain. Throughout nineteenth-century Edinburgh, the surgeon Joseph Bell was known for his extraordinary talent for detection and...