Rosalind Crone, historical consultant on the BBC series Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley, reveals what six murder cases tell us about women’s lives in the 19th century
A Ripper murder, Illustrated Police news, c. 1888.By Rosalind Crone, The Open UniversityA panic erupted in Britain 126 years ago. At daybreak on Saturday September 8, the mutilated body of Annie Chapman, a prostitute, had been found in the back yard of 29 Hanbury Street, Spitalfields.
In 1734, an extraordinary book recounted – even celebrated – the lives of highwaymen, pirates and murderers. Sam Willis explores what this compendium reveals about attitudes to crime in the 18th century