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Treasury of Victorian Murder
A Treasury of Victorian Murder
Long out of print, this very first volume of Rick Geary's increasingly successful series is now reissued in the same format as all other titles. Three delectable murders, culled from the pages of Victorian papers of the era, are presented in Geary’s inimitable style, tongue firmly in cheek!
72 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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About the author
Rick Geary
194 books202 followersRICK GEARY was born in 1946 in Kansas City, Missouri and grew up in Wichita,
Kansas. He graduated from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, where his first cartoons were published in the University Daily Kansan. He worked as staff artist for two weekly papers in Wichita before moving to San Diego in 1975.
He began work in comics in 1977 and was for thirteen years a contributor to the Funny Pages of National Lampoon. His comic stories have also been published in Heavy Metal, Dark Horse Comics and the DC Comics/Paradox Press Big Books. His early comic work has been collected in Housebound with Rick Geary from Fantagraphics Books.
During a four-year stay in New York, his illustrations appeared regularly in The New York Times Book Review. His illustration work has also been seen in MAD, Spy, Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, and American Libraries.
He has written and illustrated three children’s books based on The Mask for Dark Horse and two Spider-Man children's books for Marvel. His children’s comic “Society of Horrors” ran in Disney Adventures magazine. He was the artist for the new series of GUMBY Comics, written by Bob Burden, for which they received the 2007 Eisner Comic Industry Award for Best Publication for a Younger Audience.
His graphic novels include three adaptations for the Classics Illustrated, and the nine-volume series A Treasury of Victorian Murder for NBM Publishing. The new series A Treasury of 20th Century Murder began in 2008 with “The Lindbergh Child.” His other historically-based graphic novels include Cravan, written with Mike Richardson, and J. Edgar Hoover: A Graphic Biography.
Rick has received the Inkpot Award from the San Diego Comic Convention (1980) and the Book and Magazine Illustration Award from the National Cartoonists Society (1994).
He and his wife Deborah can be found every year at their table at San Diego’s Comic Con International. In 2007, they moved to the town of Carrizozo, New Mexico.
(from http://www.rickgeary.com/bio.html)
Kansas. He graduated from the University of Kansas in Lawrence, where his first cartoons were published in the University Daily Kansan. He worked as staff artist for two weekly papers in Wichita before moving to San Diego in 1975.
He began work in comics in 1977 and was for thirteen years a contributor to the Funny Pages of National Lampoon. His comic stories have also been published in Heavy Metal, Dark Horse Comics and the DC Comics/Paradox Press Big Books. His early comic work has been collected in Housebound with Rick Geary from Fantagraphics Books.
During a four-year stay in New York, his illustrations appeared regularly in The New York Times Book Review. His illustration work has also been seen in MAD, Spy, Rolling Stone, The Los Angeles Times, The Old Farmer’s Almanac, and American Libraries.
He has written and illustrated three children’s books based on The Mask for Dark Horse and two Spider-Man children's books for Marvel. His children’s comic “Society of Horrors” ran in Disney Adventures magazine. He was the artist for the new series of GUMBY Comics, written by Bob Burden, for which they received the 2007 Eisner Comic Industry Award for Best Publication for a Younger Audience.
His graphic novels include three adaptations for the Classics Illustrated, and the nine-volume series A Treasury of Victorian Murder for NBM Publishing. The new series A Treasury of 20th Century Murder began in 2008 with “The Lindbergh Child.” His other historically-based graphic novels include Cravan, written with Mike Richardson, and J. Edgar Hoover: A Graphic Biography.
Rick has received the Inkpot Award from the San Diego Comic Convention (1980) and the Book and Magazine Illustration Award from the National Cartoonists Society (1994).
He and his wife Deborah can be found every year at their table at San Diego’s Comic Con International. In 2007, they moved to the town of Carrizozo, New Mexico.
(from http://www.rickgeary.com/bio.html)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
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April 13, 2021Rick Geary’s first Treasury of Victorian Murder book from 1987. There are actually three stories here: the Ryan Tragedy, Dr. Pritchard Case, and Mrs. Preachy Murders. All are interesting and well-told, with Geary’s simple, just-the-facts style on display. However, they are very short compared to his later books and therefore not as satisfying. Also, Geary’s art isn’t as refined here. It’s more imperfect and wavy, and some panels suffer a bit. Still, if you like Geary’s other comics and haven’t read this, it’s worth checking out. Those Victorians were a grisly bunch.
October 10, 2023
It really is interesting to see how victorians went about solving murders. this includes three real cases of victorian murders in a unique black and white detailed art, and it was so engaging in retelling the three gruesome stories, without it being too gory or unbearable.
I'm interested to read more from him in this series.
I'm interested to read more from him in this series.
May 2, 2017
This is the fourth graphic novel in Geary's series that I've read. I like the way he combines graphics and text to tell these true crime tales. I want to read more about all of these cases, especially the last one!
March 9, 2020
The Victorians were pretty good at solving the crime of poison. They invented the science of forensics and crime investigation.
February 26, 2022
The stories were too short!
January 16, 2019
Very well-crafted. Despite the grisly subject matter, the images are not gruesome. The style of illustration isn’t meant to be realistic, and the narrative is very compelling. This book could have been longer, but it was okay for what it was. I’m glad I read it, and I might look up more in this series.
October 15, 2025
"Modern true crime is so disrespectful and sensationalist," say people who know nothing of the history of crime.
October 1, 2013
Geary's intricate, pen-and-ink, round-cornered style is well-suited for these reverent but clipped historical picto-essays. I don't think this is the exact imprint I picked up--mine was an anthology half filled with the tale of H.H. Wells [the "Devil in the White City"]. Recommended for fans of true crime and Ripper-ites.
September 23, 2007
I'm not sure why I am so into these Victorian murder comics. Maybe because the stories and art are so matter of fact. Maybe because I just can't image how one person could kill another. Oh, well, I've read all of the books in the series now, so the obsession with them can end.
October 21, 2018
I enjoyed this but kinda wished it had ten more cases. Then I would be really into it.
September 10, 2019
FINALLY a reprint of this!!!
December 4, 2024
"The Victorian Age was an especially delectable one for murder." - Rick Geary
Geary holds true to his opening sermon of the very first volume of A Treasury of Victorian Murder given how many sequel volumes were spawned following this one. Set dressing is the first thing Geary does, introducing to the reader many of the crucial figures of the Victorian Age, starting from Queen Victoria herself to statesmen, innovators, artists and explorers who made this era a significant period in global history. We shift from these mini portraits of historical figures to a series of mysteries involving the murders of Tim Ryan, Dr. Pritchard and Mary Pearcey.
Geary's approach is dry in a sense; he's interested solely in the facts devoid of sensationalism. The murders themselves happen off-page, with the mystery serving as the sole dramatic tension in each tale. Even after the murderers are caught, one must continue to ponder the motives of each killing, since Geary himself doesn't wish to exert his own theories. Told using Geary's rigorous heavy-ink lines that give off the aesthetic of an engraving or etching, the story feels like it fits the time period well. It's effective though rarely captivating artwork, so it could be something some readers find a little off-putting. It worked for me, though there were sections were perhaps Geary tried to cram a little too much detail into panels, making it a little challenging to decipher.
This is truly a unique series, and one that'll captivate those curious about this historical period with ease.
Geary holds true to his opening sermon of the very first volume of A Treasury of Victorian Murder given how many sequel volumes were spawned following this one. Set dressing is the first thing Geary does, introducing to the reader many of the crucial figures of the Victorian Age, starting from Queen Victoria herself to statesmen, innovators, artists and explorers who made this era a significant period in global history. We shift from these mini portraits of historical figures to a series of mysteries involving the murders of Tim Ryan, Dr. Pritchard and Mary Pearcey.
Geary's approach is dry in a sense; he's interested solely in the facts devoid of sensationalism. The murders themselves happen off-page, with the mystery serving as the sole dramatic tension in each tale. Even after the murderers are caught, one must continue to ponder the motives of each killing, since Geary himself doesn't wish to exert his own theories. Told using Geary's rigorous heavy-ink lines that give off the aesthetic of an engraving or etching, the story feels like it fits the time period well. It's effective though rarely captivating artwork, so it could be something some readers find a little off-putting. It worked for me, though there were sections were perhaps Geary tried to cram a little too much detail into panels, making it a little challenging to decipher.
This is truly a unique series, and one that'll captivate those curious about this historical period with ease.
December 28, 2020
I've greatly enjoyed many volumes from Geary's Treasury of Victorian Murder series over the years, but this is the first time I've gone back to where it all started, with this volume of three short tales. What I love about this work is how it celebrates what's unknown - Geary's precise artwork and storytelling belie the mystery that underlies the tales he chooses, and, by extension, so much of our lives on this weird old planet. If you've never read one of these, do yourself a favor and check them out - they leave a funny but satisfying taste in your mouth, like a piece of slightly bitter but irresistible hard candy.
February 2, 2018
This isn’t my favorite Geary crime book - the stories aren’t nearly as compelling as his later books in the series (although still horrific crimes!). And I wish the three stories in this book were longer. However, this is the very first in the series which makes it interesting, and also the art is consistently magnificent!
January 22, 2025
Fantastic! The author found three murder cases I’d never heard of that fit perfectly both with his style and with the shortage count he went for. None overstated their welcome and the first and last could do for a bit longer. I also really loved the ‘who’s who’ pages at the front of famous Victorian figures, a bunch of which even I didn’t know.
January 16, 2018
The murders are interesting but not enough information is given to make it engrossing. A graphic nove, to me, just isn't the right media for this sort of thing, at least not in the truncated manner done here. I wanted more! The art is decent, but not amazing.
January 14, 2018
A fun true crime book. Would be a good companion to a unit on Poe.
October 28, 2019
It was overall an okay book. I was a bit upset because I love crime and ture cime but it did not live up to my standards
May 28, 2020
Pretty good, but having a few stories in one volume means they are shorter and less detailed, probably because there were less details available.
September 10, 2021
This is a pleasure in that it’s Rick Geary, drawing and describing old-timey murders, but these are pretty short and don’t really dive into any details.
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September 11, 2021I'm hooked about to read them all in the name of Bailey Sarian <3 <3 <3
December 30, 2023
Gearyev meki crtež i gotovo novinarski jezik tvore privlačnu kombinaciju koja crnu kroniku pretvara u krimić, i tako otkriva širu sliku vremena i ljudske naravi.
March 23, 2025
Fun enough to read
May 15, 2025
My only complaint? Too short! I wish there had been three times the stories!
August 25, 2018
This was incredible, especially being his first title of a MAGNIFICENT series, but I'm using my review to try to inspire:
Carl Panzram- someone I wish Geary (or anybody near his talent) did a graphic novel on! His story is blurry from being so long ago and but there are enough facts to pull it off with some artistic license.
I'll spark some interest in Panzram:
Little boy has ear problem and ultra half-assed home surgery removes a part of the brain that would come to be viewed as what most unhinged him over a century later. At the time he was just seen as a bad kid who was sent to a reform school that he would burn down. In a quest for "Cowboys and Indians" he ran away on a train and got gang raped by men which he would then perform on victims though doubtfully homosexual. What he did to people and what was done to him to make him even worse are very telling about jails (which he frequently escaped) and the corporal punishment of the time. If you do nothing else, please read his quotes!
*!*PANZRAM COULD HAVE BEEN THE MEANEST HUMAN BEING THAT EVER LIVED*!*
Carl Panzram- someone I wish Geary (or anybody near his talent) did a graphic novel on! His story is blurry from being so long ago and but there are enough facts to pull it off with some artistic license.
I'll spark some interest in Panzram:
Little boy has ear problem and ultra half-assed home surgery removes a part of the brain that would come to be viewed as what most unhinged him over a century later. At the time he was just seen as a bad kid who was sent to a reform school that he would burn down. In a quest for "Cowboys and Indians" he ran away on a train and got gang raped by men which he would then perform on victims though doubtfully homosexual. What he did to people and what was done to him to make him even worse are very telling about jails (which he frequently escaped) and the corporal punishment of the time. If you do nothing else, please read his quotes!
*!*PANZRAM COULD HAVE BEEN THE MEANEST HUMAN BEING THAT EVER LIVED*!*
September 18, 2011
Thankfully NBM have made available once again the first of the excellent "Treasury of Victorian Murder" series which has been out of print for a while now. Included in this short 72 page book are 3 cases:
The Ryan Tragedy
The Dr Pritchard Case
The Mrs Pearcey Murders
The Ryan Tragedy featured a brother and sister who were found stabbed to death in their small New York room. No murderer was ever convicted nor any real motive discovered though they did find out in the autopsy that the sister was pregnant and so the gossipy theories began.
The Dr Pritchard Case, the longest in this book, features a strange, possibly mad, certainly deluded, doctor who poisoned his wife and her mother. It seems he wanted to get rid of the two in order to marry his 15 year old maid with whom he had been carrying on an affair with. He was convicted and was the last man to be publicly hanged in Scotland.
The Mrs Pearcey Murders were the murder of a young mother and her baby. Mrs Pearcey was having an affair with the husband of the murdered woman and the father of the baby, and she had been unable to forget the affair once it was over. She lived in solitude in a house near the family and became consumed with jealousy until one day her loneliness and anger boiled over and she murdered the wife and child.
All the stories are interesting and well told, as well as drawn in Geary's signature style. It's great that it's been brought back so that fans can have access to this book once again. Fans of the series will enjoy it although the book is over too quickly and the stories aren't as satisfying as other book length stories like the Lincoln murder or the Jack the Ripper killings. Good read at any rate.
The Ryan Tragedy
The Dr Pritchard Case
The Mrs Pearcey Murders
The Ryan Tragedy featured a brother and sister who were found stabbed to death in their small New York room. No murderer was ever convicted nor any real motive discovered though they did find out in the autopsy that the sister was pregnant and so the gossipy theories began.
The Dr Pritchard Case, the longest in this book, features a strange, possibly mad, certainly deluded, doctor who poisoned his wife and her mother. It seems he wanted to get rid of the two in order to marry his 15 year old maid with whom he had been carrying on an affair with. He was convicted and was the last man to be publicly hanged in Scotland.
The Mrs Pearcey Murders were the murder of a young mother and her baby. Mrs Pearcey was having an affair with the husband of the murdered woman and the father of the baby, and she had been unable to forget the affair once it was over. She lived in solitude in a house near the family and became consumed with jealousy until one day her loneliness and anger boiled over and she murdered the wife and child.
All the stories are interesting and well told, as well as drawn in Geary's signature style. It's great that it's been brought back so that fans can have access to this book once again. Fans of the series will enjoy it although the book is over too quickly and the stories aren't as satisfying as other book length stories like the Lincoln murder or the Jack the Ripper killings. Good read at any rate.
February 8, 2017
As the dust jacket notes, the Victorian era was "An age in which passions and desires were cloaked in propriety and reserve." The three stories of true crime presented in this graphic novel - set in New York, Glasgow, and Hertfordshire - demonstrate the lengths criminals might go to in order to preserve status and societal approval in that most decorous, restrained world. The black and white illustrations are detailed and busy in a style reminiscent of, although not derivative of, Edward Gorey. The writing style and the details presented, in turn, are reminiscent of the gossipy big city daily newspapers that Geary describes in the introductory remarks, full of drama, innuendo, and speculation that would keep the reader coming back to the next day's edition for the next salacious installment. Well done, and appropriate for teens and tweens interested in the mores and manners of the Victorians, as well as adults.
September 6, 2008
Going back into the Geary catalog again because they're just so damned fun. This time around is a triple set of stories of murders most mysterious, drawn in Geary's signature Victorian illustration stylings.
After an introduction to the Victorian era, Geary begins with his first tale, the Ryan Murders. The Ryan were a brother-sister pair who apparently harmed no one. But after the murder, we find that the sister was with child--but whose? And why would anyone murder this apparently blameless (though apparently tarnished) set of siblings?
"The Crimes of Dr. E.W. Pritchard" are more of a mystery because of the why than the how. A shady fellow who married fairly well, he was adulterous, terrible at his job, and eventually a killer. The most interesting part is how the code of non-interference that strikes me as so Victorian is part of how he got away with things for so long. Geary portrays this perfectly and narrates the tale in a way that shows how twisted such a case can be.
Last up is the short story of Mrs. Pearcey, a clearly deranged woman who murdered out of a sense of illness and lust. I think this case would be considered strikingly modern, if examined from today's perspective. Geary only gives it a few pages here, so there's not as much going on as I'd like.
As always, this is great fun and definitely recommended. (Library, 08/08)
Trebby's Take: So much fun, for a fan of historical crime.
After an introduction to the Victorian era, Geary begins with his first tale, the Ryan Murders. The Ryan were a brother-sister pair who apparently harmed no one. But after the murder, we find that the sister was with child--but whose? And why would anyone murder this apparently blameless (though apparently tarnished) set of siblings?
"The Crimes of Dr. E.W. Pritchard" are more of a mystery because of the why than the how. A shady fellow who married fairly well, he was adulterous, terrible at his job, and eventually a killer. The most interesting part is how the code of non-interference that strikes me as so Victorian is part of how he got away with things for so long. Geary portrays this perfectly and narrates the tale in a way that shows how twisted such a case can be.
Last up is the short story of Mrs. Pearcey, a clearly deranged woman who murdered out of a sense of illness and lust. I think this case would be considered strikingly modern, if examined from today's perspective. Geary only gives it a few pages here, so there's not as much going on as I'd like.
As always, this is great fun and definitely recommended. (Library, 08/08)
Trebby's Take: So much fun, for a fan of historical crime.
February 8, 2017
I wish this was longer.
March 25, 2008
Jared is right, which is why I'm knocking it down to three stars, despite the fact that it's still very enjoyable. This is Geary finding his feet. It's still full of murderous deeds and awesome patterns and hatching, but he apparently couldn't draw hands at this point in time. The fingers look like a bunch of bananas. It's distracting. The middle tale, which is the longest, is certainly the best, but it's not equal to any of his book-length works in the same series.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews