The Wicked Boy Audiobook By Kate Summerscale cover art

The Wicked Boy

The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer

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The Wicked Boy

By: Kate Summerscale
Narrated by: Corrie James
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Early in the morning of Monday, July 8, 1895, 13-year-old Robert Coombes and his 12-year-old brother, Nattie, set out from their small, yellow-brick terraced house in East London to watch a cricket match at Lord's. Their father had gone to sea the previous Friday, the boys told their neighbors, and their mother was visiting her family in Liverpool.

Over the next 10 days, Robert and Nattie spent extravagantly, pawning their parents' valuables to fund trips to the theatre and the seaside. But as the sun beat down on the Coombes house, a strange smell began to emanate from the building. When the police were finally called to investigate, the discovery they made sent the press into a frenzy of horror and alarm, and Robert and Nattie were swept up in a criminal trial that echoed the outrageous plots of the penny dreadful novels that Robert loved to read.

In The Wicked Boy, Kate Summerscale has uncovered a fascinating true story of murder and morality. It is not just a meticulous examination of a shocking Victorian case but also a compelling account of its aftermath and of man's capacity to overcome the past.

©2016 Kate Summerscale (P)2016 Recorded Books

Accolades & Awards

Edgar Award
2017
Edgar Award True Crime Great Britain Murder England Crime Europe Biographies & Memoirs Victorian True Crime
All stars
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At times this book is very slow and seems overly complex. However, it was worth getting to the final chapter.

A Complex Story

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Very complicated compelling story. At a time when women couldn’t hold a job outside the home and children had no rights.

The narrator was VERY good.

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Very interesting, it's like glimpsing into the past. The author did an excellent job in her research and telling of this boys story

Great book!

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Too many tangents and it seemed overly long due to extraneous stories. It should be pared down a little and it would be better.

Interesting story but...

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The narrator was wonderful, giving a flavor of life in England. The author did an outstanding job of research into this time period in history and into the life of Robert Coombes.

The author did outstanding research

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