Jack Whicher returns on ITV

Programming notice: the estimable Mister Whicher will return to television Sunday, May 12 in The Murder in Angel Lane on ITV. For those who actually have ITV as part of a television subscription package, it runs from 8 to 10 pm, presumably British Summer Time. (Making it 3 to 5 pm for American Eastern Daylight Time, I believe.)

I think just about anyone with just about any internet connected device should be able to access the show thereafter, though. I’ve not done it before, but that’s the impression I get from the ITV site. I will certainly try to view the Mister Whicher sequel somehow, and reference to a “free 30-day catch-up” seems promising.

Watch this space.

Tags: comeback, Murder in Angel Lane, TV, Whicher

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Billy the Kid and the name game

I’ve written a few times now, about “the odd way in which key names seem to recur throughout the history of murder” and other criminological activity. I find it amusing, and at times bizarre or even a little eerie.

The Pinkertons clashing with a 19th century bandit named Frank James, and Ellis Parker bringing a murderer of the same name to justice in the 20th, is easy enough to write down to coincidence given that neither “Frank” nor “James” are remotely unusual names. But then there are other repetitions of names that give one a bit more pause. Isaiah Lees putting away a horrible murderer named Edward Bonney in 1861, roughly coincident with the birth of another Bonney who went on to considerably greater criminal infamy (using the nickname in this post’s title), for example. And then there’s the dumbfounding history of Henry Meyers…

But all of it is ultimately just coincidence, right? Just apparent patterns observed amid random noise, with no further significance? Probably, but maybe not quite entirely.

Gregory Clark of UC Davis has conducted research into surnames and intergenerational social standing that produced a bit of buzz last fall. The result of his study of tracking surnames across hundreds of years in several countries around the world—including the United States—was that “if we want to [forecast your rank] in society, maybe as much as 60 percent of the outcome is determined at the time of conception.” In other words, family status has been remarkably, consistently durable across 100s of years in a variety of societies and economies.

The implications of this for socioeconomic policy I’ll leave to other forums. But, from the perspective of recurring names in the history of crime, it does seem to suggest that there might, might just be a little bit more going on than coincidence.

Check back in a few hundred years, perhaps, for further review.

Tags: Billy the Kid, Gregory Clark, henry meyer, name game

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Detective fashion

I’m hardly an expert on fashion, either modern or historical. But I have given some thought to how it relates to the great detectives of my book, particularly after receiving one remarkable comment on the cover from a good friend: “Wait a second — I’m looking at their ties!  Holy crap — the first guy looks like 1820 – 1830s.  Then a civil-war era guy — then a 1880s – 1890s guy — then the last one from the 1930s or 40s?  Wow — quite the time range.”

This was one of those moments that remind you people how much people can surprise you, even after you’ve known them for years. I have no idea where it came from, but he just nailed it, without any background about the book’s content, from these photos alone:

Right to left: Vidocq (prominent in the 1820s); Allan Pinkerton (prominent around the Civil War); William Burns (prominent in the 1890s); Ellis Parker (prominent c. 1930)

For my part, I hadn’t even consciously intended to arrange these portraits in a chronological order, or even realized that I had done so. Still, the discovery that four at least of the great detectives were very much men of their time in terms of style made quite a bit of sense upon thinking about it.

Read more…

Tags: fashion, presidents, Sherlock Holmes, Vidocq

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In two months: Author Alley

I have another event lined up and on the schedule. The first Saturday in July will find me spending the afternoon at Author Alley, a book fair hosted by Loganberry Books as part of the Larchmere Festival. Apparently you can expect a lot of local authors; the list from 2012 seems to go on at some length.

Please drop by to say hello, buy a book and/or get a book signed.

Tags: Author Alley, event

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Paddington Green neighbors

Further developing the theme of “kind correspondents send me images relating to Ignatius Pollaky and/or of significant locations in detective history that I failed to visit myself when recently in London…” I recently received a pointer to this interesting image.

It says “Preissnitz House, Paddington Green, London, W”

Why is this interesting? Well, apparently the address of Richard Metcalfe’s public baths was 11 Paddington Green…

So presumably we know now a little more about the scenery which would have greeted a notable neighbor of Mr. Metcalfe’s as he came and went pursuing discreet inquiries…

Thanks to my (also discreet) correspondent for the tip!

Tags: London, Pollaky

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Isaiah Lees vs Jack the Ripper

As noted in an earlier post, the infamous Whitechapel murders of 125 years ago this autumn took place within a curious hole right in the middle of what was otherwise the golden age of extraordinary real-life detectives. Every one was either retired, deceased, or practicing far from London in 1888.

Out of all the Brilliant Deduction cast, the most fascinating might-have-been with regards to the Ripper crimes is the career of Isaiah W. Lees. Born in England, Lees grew up to become a police detective with an impressive record for solving mysterious crimes, including many violent murders, and in 1888 was in his prime. But he was also several thousand miles away from Whitechapel, having emigrated to America with his family while still an infant and decamped for San Francisco while a young man.

And yet, reading about Lees one finds that repeated, odd connections to the case of Jack the Ripper seem to have followed him across the ocean.

In July of 1889, the San Francisco Examiner made note of Lees’s enthusiasm for book collecting, and chose to illustrate it with the suggestion that

If Captain Lees tomorrow were to collar the Whitechapel fiend, and be able to establish his identity by the clearest of proofs, he would make no mention of the circumstance in the upper office, and treat it as an everday occurrence. When he runs down and scoops in a rare specimen of criminal literature the case is different. He glories in his success, brags of his achievement and will spend hours telling his friends how he was enabled to make the capture.

At the same time, the (many) legends associated with the actual Ripper crimes include a story that a man named “Lees” did play some role in the investigation. Which does not mean it happened, but it is a real story associating the name “Lees” and the Whitechapel mythology…

Read more…

Tags: cosmology, Jack the Ripper, Lees, London, name game, parallel reality, San Francisco

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Positive-review momentum

Just over a week after the encouraging judgement of the San Francisco Book Review, I have another good review to add to the list.

Reviewer, writer and mystery fan Renee Shelton has considered Brilliant Deduction, and found it to her liking.

[The careers of detectives profiled in Brilliant Deduction] span nearly two centuries, and it is fascinating to learn about how they went about their work, and why solving crimes became so vital to them. … They are as interesting as any fictional character you will read about. Knowing these individuals made the history books and inspired others makes them even more engaging.

A great read, for both mystery and history buffs as Brilliant Deduction combines the two.

This is almost getting to be too much. I’m really not accustomed to this type of public accolade. “Baby, who knew?—even good things take some gettin’ used to.”

Meanwhile, as the reviews are at last issuing (and a few kind people are even buying the book, too), it almost feels like I might be approaching just a little of that invaluable momentum. At all events it may not be a bad time to note that you can help me out, dear reader; leaving comments or reviews, recommending my book, reading it in public, etc., etc., all mean a lot! Many, many thanks!

Tags: news, reviews

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Scotland Yard, version x

Spent a week in London, earlier this month. Good time, mostly, though I think even Dr. Johnson might find the modern city can be legitimately tiring even if one has not lost all interest in life. Unfortunately, the only detective-related sightseeing I fit in was this (which I found delightful); didn’t make it to Paddington Green or the Met Police Heritage Museum. Perhaps next time.

But I do have a photo of Scotland Yard, acquired through a photo exchange with a friend who also visited London this spring.

NOT the modern Scotland Yard, note.

Read more…

Tags: London, name game, Scotland Yard

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Butch Cassidy, beyond the grave?

A few notes on the interesting work I finished, recently, Butch Cassidy: Beyond the Grave by W.C. Jameson.

Butch and his partner Sundance (who was probably not his closest friend or partner-in-crime, as Mr. Jameson observes in the process of brushing aside the many endearing myths about the pair) receive the briefest, one-line aside mention in Brilliant Deduction. But the Pinkertons’ interest in the pair was considerably more enduring (and indeed, as said aside notes, more enduring than that of their financier clients who were content to drop pursuit of the pair once they left the country). Thus they turn up repeatedly in the pages of Butch Cassidy, or at least their files do; William, Robert and a few agents appear in person now and then, but for the most part the Pinkertons are simply an agency, hovering in the background and compiling notes in preparation for a reckoning that never came.

Those files make, or contribute to, interesting reading a century later. Jameson writes that

During the time of the so-called shootout in San Vicente [the one dramatized in the much-loved film with Newman and Redford], the Pinkertons probably knew more about the location and activities of Cassidy and Harry Longabaugh [i.e. Sundance] than anyone. A thorough search of the files of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency yields no information to suggest that they ever believed Butch Cassidy had been killed in San Vicente.

As much as I love the 1969 movie, and its iconic ending, Jameson makes a compelling case that the Pinkertons’ skepticism about the banditos yanquis‘ alleged demise was warranted, too.

Read more…

Tags: Butch Cassidy, other books, Pinkertons, Tichborne Claimant

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Thank you San Francisco!

Another review joins my virtual press clippings file… Writing for San Francisco Book Review, Glenn Dallas gives Brilliant Deduction four stars out of five, along with some thoughtful remarks about the book’s themes.

There’s something inherently oxymoronic about a famous private detective. Similar to questioning how good a spy James Bond is when everyone knows his favorite drink, you have to wonder about the efficacy of a detective who keeps secrets and hunts down criminals but also becomes a renowned public figure. This conflicting juxtaposition of qualities serves as the center of Brilliant Deduction…

The most fascinating idea in Brilliant Deduction is that “the great detective” is more a byproduct of a certain time period rather than an inevitable cultural development…

As welcome as the exposure and star rating are, it’s also splendid to find that someone a) picked up on my book’s major themes and b) found them interesting enough to write about in his review.

I suppose I had better keep working on that second book, here, hadn’t I?

Tags: reviews, San Francisco

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