McLevy: The Edinburgh Detective

by James McLevy

Edinburgh has provided the backdrop to stories of detection for almost a century and a half. In the 1860s, a few years before Conan Doyle began his medical studies at Edinburgh University, there appeared a hugely popular series of books with titles including "Curiosities of Crime in Edinburgh", "The Sliding Scale of Life" and "The Disclosures of a Detective". They were all the work of one James McLevy, an Edinburgh policeman. The now largely forgotten, McLevy was one of the first exponents of the crime genre and a likely influence on the creator of Sherlock Holmes.Like Conan Doyle, McLevy had an Irish background. He was born in Co Armagh, the son of a small farmer. Largely self-educated, he joined the Edinburgh police force in 1830 as a night watchman before rising up through the ranks to become a detective. The collection of stories in this book are based on some of the 2,220 cases he dealt with in the course of his career, wonderfully evoking the spirit of the city, and the vivid descriptions of its criminal classes as they moved between the very different worlds of the Old and New Towns. It is introduced by Quintin Jardine.

Genres: History, True Crime, Crime, Memoir, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2008

Reviews

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

McLevy, a detective in Edinburgh in the 19th century, takes us through some of his cases. Apart from his obvious hatred of the English, he seems a good bloke! His observations are pretty astute and this book goes to show that the basic elements of criminality never change.

[Rain Blackmoore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing collection of short stories, easy to read if you're familiar with Victorian-era style. James McLevy was a real detective who may have influenced Poe, Conan Doyle and so on. McLevy knew his local thieves -- his "regulars" -- by their first names. They exchanged puns and played wars of wits.

Aside from a couple of stories where Victorian racism and sexism rear their ugly heads (which is sadly something to expect, in books written in that era), it's a fantastic little book, with a nice foreword written by Quintin Jardine.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This autobiography of a Victorian detective, roaming the streets of Edinburgh was not what I expected.

The first surprise was the length. This is not a long book and I managed to read it in only a few short sessions. I had expected a longer book simply because I had already heard of James McLevy. If you look through my To-read List, you'll find a book by David Ashton [i]A Trick of the Light[/i], A James McLevy Mystery, part of a series written by Ashton based on the real detective. There is also a series of radio plays about the detective, starring Brian Cox and Siobhan Redmond which have been broadcast on BBC radio 4. Given that there is all this "extra" work based on his life, I though there would be a much longer volume of his own writing.

The next surprise was his eloquence. A farmers son from Ireland, he left school at 13 and became a linen weaver, then a builder before becoming a policeman. Such humble and poorly educated beginnings do not usually produce such wonderful philosophy, written with such elegance in such beautiful language. The language, I'll admit could be a problem for some readers. When he is not twisting you in linguistical mazes, he is parroting back the low Scots slang used by his quarry. Now, I've been reading Victorian literature since I was a teenager, live with a man who loves words and, as a Scot living in England, pride myself on my ability to translate my native tongue for the Englishers I work with. And I found some of this language tough going. A casual reader could easily be out off by this, especially as there is no glossary or footnoted translation of some of the more dense Scots phrases.

His humour was definitely a pleasant surprise. If I said some of the cheeky things to my boss that he said to his Superintendent (or says he said), I'd get the sack. McLevy is refreshingly human. He is arrogant and conceited, but his wit, charm and intelligence make this forgivable. He sometimes shows regret at his duty to arrest someone for a crime he cannot blame them for and regularly rails the society or parenting that he believes led a criminal into a life of crime they cannot escape now. But even as he regrets and rages, he cannot let the slightest drop of illegality slide, because the law is the law and must be obeyed.

The book was a pleasant diversion, and a fascinating look at life in the poorer parts of Edinburgh during Victoria's reign. But the publishers must consider assisting the reader with the language in future editions, or they could end up with a lot of readers putting the book down in disgust.

[Chrystyna · Rating 3 out of 5]

McLevy The Edinburgh Detective by James McLevy - OK

Interesting book, but not a page turner. McLevy was a Detective in Edinburgh during the 1860s and this is his account of various crimes and how he caught the criminals.

So far so good, but.... as an account of what happened it is very interesting and he captures the feel of Victorian Edinburgh, but he is very much a policeman. This is factual with no colour in the form of deduction. We are spoiled by current authors and their descriptive powers of crime and investigation, so reading a dry explanation seems to fall short. If you can keep in mind when it was written and who by, then it is a worthwhile read.

[Mick Finlay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting little book describing some of McLevy's cases. A lot of the detective work at the time seemed to be about following people and using intelligence.

[Rog Harrison · Rating 2 out of 5]

These are apparently true stories about the cases of a detective which were originally published in 1861. I found the author's writing a bit too florid and most of the cases were not particularly interesting. However some of the crimes were strange and I was also intrigued by the very different punishments handed out by the courts. So if you are interested in nineteenth century crime this may be worth a read.

[Lila · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of reprinted short essays from Curiosities of Crime in Edinburgh and The Sliding Scale of Life, true life accounts of Edinburgh policeman James McLevy, who in 1861 recorded his 2,000 plus cases. An Irishman working in Scotland, his chatty comments about captured robbers, all who get "transported" at the end, had an influence on detective and crime writing genres.

[Andrew Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book with multiple short stories over 150 years old. The stories are based on fact from the authors recollection. Some of Sherlock Holme's traits were supposedly based on this real life policeman who lived in Edinburgh just before Arthur Conan Doyle. Some of the language and cultural references can be hard going but that added to the enjoyment for me.

[Barbara Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charming historical memoir from a detective with a philosophical turn of mind. Would have been better if a glossary of the dialect and the slang words had been included. Great reading for fans of the Radio 4 McLevy series.

[Bettie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bettie's Books

[Suvi · Rating 2 out of 5]

BBC Radio 7

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kind of like if Sherlock Holmes narrated the Sherlock Holmes stories. Interesting and enjoyable.