Thank you to the publisher. All of my options are my own.


I didn’t pay attention when I was requesting this book. I thought this was a historical fiction story and was quite surprised to find out that it is actually a meticulously researched nonfiction account of a boy who killed his mother in the late 1800’s East London.

This was such an interesting read. The details and work the author put into this book is amazing.

I kept wondering if his mother really had been abusive or mentally ill. Or was he perhaps criminally insane? That part we will never know, but we got greater insights into many facets of life in England during the 19th century.

I would highly recommend this book to any tru crime and historical non-fiction enthusiasts.

This one was a DNF for me, I ended up trying the audiobook, but soon figured out it wasn’t a good fit. I was looking forward to a good true crime read, but this just didn’t do it for me.

Summerscale is consistent in her style and her research and this doesn't necessarily equate to a compliment. This story is interesting because of the rarity of child murders but it also feels remote and underdone. There just seems to be a lack of detail. This was also noticeable in Alma Fielding. Having undertaken a lot of genealogical and historical research, I have to commend Summerscale for the stories she finds but I'm always left cold. I think this has to do with the amount of surviving detail and the need to be true to said details rather than creating a narrative. This is probably the crux of it. If Summerscale used true crime but wrote it as fiction, these stories would work better. Summerscale is a talented writer, I just wish there could be more.

A true crime book about a 13 year old who killed his mother and.continued living in the house with his 12 year old brother. A story about redemption, and abuse. He ended up serving in WW1 and won an award. He lived a long life and became a guardian of an abused.boy. Great for lovers of true crime and historical non-fiction

Fantastic read about the injustices that happened to the poor during Victorian era. The research is in depth and provides all the details about the central character as well as the society he grew up in.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

In the summer of 1895, Robert Coombes (age 13) and his brother Nattie (age 12) were seen spending lavishly around the docklands of East London — for ten days in July, they ate out at coffee houses and took trips to the seaside and the theater. The boys told neighbors they had been left home alone while their mother visited family in Liverpool, but their aunt was suspicious. When she eventually she forced the brothers to open the house to her, she found the badly decomposed body of their mother in a bedroom upstairs. Robert and Nattie were arrested for matricide and sent for trial at the Old Bailey.
Robert confessed to having stabbed his mother, but his lawyers argued that he was insane. Nattie struck a plea and gave evidence against his brother. The court heard testimony about Robert’s severe headaches, his fascination with violent criminals and his passion for ‘penny dreadfuls’, the pulp fiction of the day. He seemed to feel no remorse for what he had done, and neither the prosecution nor the defense could find a motive for the murder. The judge sentenced the thirteen-year-old to detention in Broadmoor, the most infamous criminal lunatic asylum in the land. Yet Broadmoor turned out to be the beginning of a new life for Robert–one that would have profoundly shocked anyone who thought they understood the Wicked Boy.

This book is broken up into two parts - the first covers the murder, the trial and the result. The second part is more of a "What Happened Next?" kind of thing.

The first part was fascinatingly interesting - the research and conclusions are perfect. Sadly, it was as boring as watching paint dry. Almost felt like I was reading a history text book: "This happened, then this happened, then this happened...the end." I loved the detail (which is important when telling a true crime story) but it was very hard to read as a narrative.

The second part, which doesn't sound anywhere near as interesting, was probably the better part of the book. Robert was shipped off to Broadmoor, the hospital for the criminally insane. We learn about how those with mental illnesses were treated in these kinds of places and the difference Robert got because of his age. There were comparisons to now with respect to criminals faking their insanity/mental health issues for a lighter sentence.

On the whole, this is a fascinating study of a crime by a 13 year old boy. But it does get bogged down with the details but gets saved by the second part, which answers the question: Can someone convicted of a terrible crime go on and live a fulfilled life?

I would recommend this, just with the caveat that the first part is a little heavy going.


Paul
ARH

Review on Amazon and Goodreads

3 Stars

Review:

Ms. Summerscale's true crime novels aren't your typical run of the mill true crime novels and that is what I like about them. Ms. Summerscale blends facts of the case with sociological aspects of the time period that could have impacted on the case. In her first book, it really worked for me. On this one, it didn't blend as well. As a result, I felt that it was bogged down with too much irrelevant detail that had more of a filler feeling than anything else. While I enjoyed The Wicked Boy, I felt, due to the reasons listed, it had a feeling of dragging on.

When you don't have a word for something and can't or won't entertain a concept does that condition exist? To modern eyes the case against "Wicked Boy" of the title sounds like the child had a psychotic break of some sort and due to the stress of his home life something horrific happened .
The book gives a modern look at a case where a crime was committed yet modern criminal psychological concepts and thought didn't exist. Without giving anything away of the case the book was extremely revealing in the legal and treatment of the insane and whether or not legal whether someone can stand trial due to age or infirmity.. .

Horrific crime and fascinating read. It was a very descriptive and detailed look at London in 1890.

I am so sad that I made it 15% into this book, wasn't really understanding what I was reading, but what I did get was that it was all over the place and repetitive. I'm very disappointed because the synopsis had such intrigue and promise too.