Cruel Deeds and Dreadful Calamities: The Illustrated Police News 1864-1938

by Linda Stratmann

 “Jack the Ripper Arrested with Victim Alice MacKenzie in Whitechapel.” “Boys Murder Their Mother. Revolting Crime at Plaistow—Shocking Details.” “Horrible Discovery of Human Remains at Rainham.” These are just some of the captions for the true crimes depicted in the Illustrated Police News. Best known for its meticulous coverage of the murders of Jack the Ripper, the weekly newspaper, published from 1864 until 1938, reported murders, hangings, and other dramatic crimes of the time alongside images packed with gruesome detail.

Unapologetic about its sensationalism, the Illustrated Police News has been often dismissed as of little value, merely a crude publication that aimed to thrill the undiscerning reader with prurient pictures. But in Cruel Deeds and Dreadful Calamities, Linda Stratmann sets the record straight, arguing that it was actually a promoter of social change. Stratmann examines its social and political agenda and reveals the power and compassion in its images. She argues that the publication campaigned against the evils of cruelty, poverty, drink, and crime. As well, it anticipated by many years the features of today’s journalism, in the rapidity with which it provided pictures of current news events, its appeal to the emotions, and the way it involved its readers in the reporting process.
A highly illustrated and comprehensive look at the Illustrated Police News , this book offers substantial new research into how the paper was produced, the men who made it a success, and the stories behind the pictures. This look into the dark underbelly of Victorian culture will appeal to both crime and history readers alike.

Genres: History, True Crime, Nonfiction, Reference, Victorian

160 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2011

About the author

Linda Stratmann is a British writer of historical true crime, biography and crime fiction.

Reviews

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent insight into the history of the Illustrated Police News. It's quite a rare book, and a second hand copy set me back $120 AUD. Well worth the money spent as the subject matter is pared with high quality prints of the illustrations. And what's with all the octopus attacks... ;)

[Susannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book about The Illustrated Police News which was a cheap paper aimed at working people at a time that more people were becoming literate. It had stories of murder, celebrities, accidents, paranormal activities, animals etc. This book also reproduces the illustrations of the stories and a lot can be learned about society at the time through these stories such as attitudes to towards women, race and corsets and the attitudes may not be what you might think. Highly recommended especially for anyone interested in social history at this time and also true crime as there is a murder section and it includes stories of famous murders such as the murder of Fanny Adams and the murder of Mary Ann Nichols.

[Paul O'Donnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptionally niche book and quite amusing to read. I suspect a British audience might appreciate it even more than my American self. The stories are interesting and the glimpses of culture they provide are fascinating.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating deep dive into the muckraking, salacious tabloid "journalism" of the Victorian era. Some of the most evocative illustrations...

[Harriet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful! It is so we'll put together and a joy to read. It will be a book I pick up often to read snippets of the best news stories from 1864-1938 (my favourite time to read about).

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho comprato questa bellissima edizione alla British Library a Londra (passate a visitarla, è gratis!).
E' una raccolta, non completa, di alcune copertine del giornale illustrato della polizia. Le illustrazioni sono molto belle, alcuni crimini o notizie vengono approfondite dall'autore, ma alcune invece vengono ignorate, non ho capito il perchè.
Carino, ma poteva essere più completo ed offrire un quadro migliore dell'epoca.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

On Friday evening before the play I went on a bit of a Victorian sensationalism buying spree at Book World. I bought this and wordsworth editions of Varney the Vampire and Wagner the Wereworlf. I had originally thought that the book consisted of a selection of articles with the actual text and accompanying photographs. I was quite disappointed when I discovered that instead of re-printing the articles Stratmann had instead just described them. However, once I got over my initial disappointment I found I was really enjoying it. I loved the descriptions of the background and history or fictions behind the stories. I was impressed by how much was actually based on real life. The stories were all apropriately scandalous, 11 and 12 year old boys murdering their mothers (which is Victorian times was bamed on the bad influence of penny dreadfulls instead of video games), suicides, accidents, crime, scandals, the supernatural as well as women's roles and social commentary (including the match women's strike) were all included. Stratmann's analysis of the pictures was very insightful and it was nice to have a context. This is probably supposed to be a coffee table book where you read a few stories here and there but I read the whole thing in two sittings and throughly enjoyed it. Definitely one I'd recommend to people who like the darker side of the Victorian era.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disappointed that it has no actual articles - I hoped to use it for language teaching - however, having said that an interesting read and some fascinating chapters. Great to dip into and the organisation of chapters into themes makes it quite accessible, delivering greater insight into aspects of the Victorian period. Illustrations from the paper are numerous and the book is well presented. This works well with the references to newspaper articles and fashions in Claire Tomalin's autobiography of Dickens and 'Inventing the Victorians' Matthew Sweet.

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a beautifully designed and executed book and would work great as a present for a reader interested in Victorian crime and journalism. As someone who has done a lot of research on that time, I would have liked some longer assessments of the illustrations and accompanying stories, of their impact on society, and also on how they reflect society's changing views through the over 70 years of the Illustrated Police News's history. It's a fascinating source and deserves a more in-depth study. I still enjoyed reading the book as is though.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent historical look at trashy tabloid journalism of years gone bye. The scandals of yesteryear remind us that the world is, in fact, just as crummy as it's always been, and in many, many ways a whole heaping lot better. Definitely a fun and informative read.