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The Burglar Caught by a Skeleton: And Other Singular Tales from the Victorian Press
The Bunny Suicides of the 1800s - extraordinary, bizarre and often morbidly funny stories from the depths of the Victorian press.
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
October 22, 2013
I tagged this as humour and, though I laughed, I must admit I finished this book thoroughly depressed...
Jeremy Clay, a journalist himself, compiled the most bizarre news articles from the Victorian age and presented them divided by category: Animals, Love, Marriage and Family, Food and Drink, Health and Medicine, Coincidence and Luck, Sports, Hobbies and Pastimes, Inventions, Life and Death, Superstition, Arts and Entertainment, and a few others which defied classification.
Not to say that each and every one of these categories didn't contain extremely amusing stories, but more often than not there were articles about husbands beating and selling their wives, parents selling their children, people committing suicide in front of an audience (sometimes the audience was entirely comprised of children), mothers losing their children in horrific circumstances, and children living in appallingly abusive conditions.
I cannot say I didn't get fair warning, before each section Clay writes a short intro - I must say, these intros were the weakest points in the book, and that's saying something when more often than not Victorian journalists eschewed description with the handy, "[events] may be more readily imagined than described." Clay uses similes which try to be shockingly funny, but end up being neither, for instance: "Like a spray of urine from a territorial tom cat, [these dates] merely mark the boundaries of our interest."
But for anyone interested in the bizarre, and the Victorian era (which, more often than not, go hand in hand), it's well worth reading.
I'll finish with my favourite article, to give you a taste of the book:
A Strange Adventure
A curious canoe adventure is reported from Frankfurt. Some members of the boat club in that city resolved to row to Mayence by night. They started at 12 o’clock, and pulled away vigorously all night, enjoying the pull exceedingly.
At sunrise it was discovered to their great chagrin that the anchor had not been weighed, and that they had remained at the same spot where they had taken leave of their friends, by whom they are now known as ‘the explorers.’
The Evening News, Portsmouth, November 4, 1882
July 18, 2015
Well what can I say about this collection other than you have really got to love the Victorians. This pulls together the numerous stories that titillated, amused and horrified the paper reading public during Victorian times as the papers were getting to grips with what, when and how to report the various goings-on in the UK and the world at large. The stories range from the heart-wrenching to the side splittingly funny with everything in between and then some, all told in the pragmatic stiff-upper-lip manner that dominated the press of the time with no hint of irony, sarcasm or humour no matter what the situation or circumstance. Probably best not read as a novel (as I did) but excellent for dipping in and out of to pass a moment or two. Clay has even been kind enough to provide some update notes and clarifications for some of the more memorable tales included within this volume's pages.
March 23, 2014
A collection of newspaper clippings from the 1800's, some funny, some tragic and some unbelievable. The one annoying thing about the book is that at the start of each chapter we're given a preface which includes one of the stories included in the chapter. Solved this by not reading the preface and going straight to the clippings.
Also pleased that Clay added a short section to tell the reader what happened to the child left at a hotel by his mother, who then couldn't remember where the hotel was.
Also pleased that Clay added a short section to tell the reader what happened to the child left at a hotel by his mother, who then couldn't remember where the hotel was.
May 30, 2019
The Burglar Caught By a Skeleton by Jeremy Clay is a collection of stories from circa 1900 extracted from tabloid and newspaper articles of the day. The title of the book is also the title of one of the many selections offered in this collection of “Singular Stories from the Victorian Press.” The author has done reporting of what has been published and cautions that some items possibly have been exaggerated so it will be up to the reader to evaluate some details of possible vintage “fake news.”
There is nothing to review as far as content critically. These anecdotes are works of reporting, so I will only examine the structure of the novel. Jeremy Clay explores fifteen topical themes in 247 pages. The language used is the vocabulary of the time, and this might be of interest to students of the History of the English Language. I will select my favorite example from each of the fifteen themes and provide a short paraphrase or quote of essential points using present-day English. I will provide a credit for each selection so the skeptical reader will be able to find the original report. Some reports are truly mind-boggling.
I rated this at four Amazon stars within its genre, which is reporting. I did not give it five stars despite my interest in some bizarre reported incidents because of formatting. Some pages ended with a headline, and I had to scroll back several times to get an idea of the “headline” that introduced the article. In a preface to the book, note the author’s comment on headlines, the ways they were, or were not, used.
Animals ***** A miner named John Hanes left off shaving with a straight razor to check on a disturbance in his back yard, leaving his three pet monkeys alone. The father of the two young monkeys picked up the blade and nearly decapitated the younger two, then slashed his own throat. Hines returned to his room to find the two young monkeys dead; the father died two days later. Reported 20 March 1890 in The Royal Cornwall Gazette. (p.27).
Love, Marriage, and Family***** A Protestant clergyman wanted to perform a marriage ceremony for his daughter but became so ill a few days before the wedding that several around him assured him he would die before the scheduled wedding. He recorded his part of the ceremony on a phonograph and spoke the critical words at the wedding. Reported September 5, 1900, by The Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette, Louisiana. (p.44).
Food and Drink ***** Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management offered advice on whether a drunk man should be hung by his heels. Her advice: It was better to stick him in a bath and tickle his nose with a feather. (p. 55).
Health and Medicine ***** An incredible medical discovery was Dr. J. Collis Browne’s Chlorodyne, which promised to ‘assuage pain of every kind’ from toothache to cancer. Another doctor provided a testimonial saying that nine doses had cured him of diarrhea. Perhaps the mixture of chloroform, tincture of cannabis and laudanum made the doctor not care about the sickness as he chose instead to enjoy the nine doses. (p.71).
Coincidence and Luck ***** Mr. Thomas Ellis and his friend Mr. John Kester were both in declining health and near death. Kester sent a message to his friend saying that he would soon meet him on the “other side” of death. One hour after the news, both were dead. “They were born on the same day and hour, and died on the same day and hour, aged seventy-five.” (p. 91).
Sport, Hobbies, and Pastimes ***** Several members of a boat club committed to a long-distance canoe trip. The journey would begin at midnight bound for a distant neighboring town. After rowing until dawn, the rowers discovered they had failed to weigh anchor and were never more than a few feet from their starting point. (p.99).
Inventions ***** An American invented a tapeworm trap. Housed in a capsule, the afflicted would fast a few days before swallowing the medicine. A small string leading from the capsule would attract a hungry tapeworm which would detect food inside the capsule. The tapeworm would pull on the line; the spring-loaded capsule would open, the tapeworm would try to extract the food and be trapped when the jaws of the capsule closed. The patient would then pull on the end of a different string to pull the capsule out of his body, much like fishing. Rinse and repeat. (p. 116).
Life and Death ***** Brooklyn Dr. Park was observing undertakers carrying the body of his wife when Mrs. Park sat up completely conscious. The shock, along with other illnesses caused Dr. Park to die immediately. (p. 118).
Superstition, Belief and the Supernatural ***** Mother Shipton, a well-known predictor of the future, forecast that the world would end in 1881. Kate, a 10-year-old girl, read and believed the prophecies. Kate even knew the night it would happen. She told her parents and went to bed. In the early morning hours, Kate had a fit, a doctor was called, and Kate died two hours later. The power of belief in superstition was durable. (p. 159).
Crime and Punishment ***** A woman in France wound up in court when she refused to pay for a glass eye. She claimed that it did not help her see at all and that she had been tricked into believing false expectations. (p. 180).
Wagers ***** In a political wager, Henry Winsted of Indiana, promised to engage in a butting match with a full-grown ram if Mr. McKinley was elected,; while should Mr. Bryan be the victor, John Burns, of the same town, would drink three pints of hard cider while standing on his head in a barrel. (p. 193).
Accidents and Disasters ***** A man who did not trust in banks withdrew his life savings and concealed the money in a drawer in his home. All the notes were eaten away by mice. There was a happy ending. (p. 202).
Fashion and Clothes ***** An outbreak of rheumatic fever that left the fondly regarded Princess Alexandra (Scotland) lame. As she was a trend-setter, fashion-conscious women in the capital were soon to be seen affecting a hobble. Boot makers even designed special boots to induce healthy citizens to appear afflicted. (p. 211).
Arts and Entertainment ***** An operatic star, Mlle Hading, during a performance in Paris was pelted by thrown cabbages, potatoes, and similar missiles. It was said that Mlle. Hading had captivated the husband of the amateur pitcher. (p. 223).
And Finally, … ***** A shower of meat lasting two or three minutes fell on Benicia, California in 1851. There are multiple explanations as to the origin of the meat. (p.236).
What Happened Next? ***** This section is reserved for the author to go back to several incidents described in the book and follow up to answer the question, “Where are they now?” The answer is a very satisfactory wrap-up, which should please readers as they discover not everyone died, not every event had a tragic ending. (p. 244-247).
I found this collection of oddities a fascinating Saturday morning read. Perhaps the examples from each section will encourage others to explore the weird reporting at the turn of a distant century reported in this collection. Does such reporting occur today? The question is almost rhetorical.
There is nothing to review as far as content critically. These anecdotes are works of reporting, so I will only examine the structure of the novel. Jeremy Clay explores fifteen topical themes in 247 pages. The language used is the vocabulary of the time, and this might be of interest to students of the History of the English Language. I will select my favorite example from each of the fifteen themes and provide a short paraphrase or quote of essential points using present-day English. I will provide a credit for each selection so the skeptical reader will be able to find the original report. Some reports are truly mind-boggling.
I rated this at four Amazon stars within its genre, which is reporting. I did not give it five stars despite my interest in some bizarre reported incidents because of formatting. Some pages ended with a headline, and I had to scroll back several times to get an idea of the “headline” that introduced the article. In a preface to the book, note the author’s comment on headlines, the ways they were, or were not, used.
Animals ***** A miner named John Hanes left off shaving with a straight razor to check on a disturbance in his back yard, leaving his three pet monkeys alone. The father of the two young monkeys picked up the blade and nearly decapitated the younger two, then slashed his own throat. Hines returned to his room to find the two young monkeys dead; the father died two days later. Reported 20 March 1890 in The Royal Cornwall Gazette. (p.27).
Love, Marriage, and Family***** A Protestant clergyman wanted to perform a marriage ceremony for his daughter but became so ill a few days before the wedding that several around him assured him he would die before the scheduled wedding. He recorded his part of the ceremony on a phonograph and spoke the critical words at the wedding. Reported September 5, 1900, by The Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette, Louisiana. (p.44).
Food and Drink ***** Mrs. Beeton’s Book of Household Management offered advice on whether a drunk man should be hung by his heels. Her advice: It was better to stick him in a bath and tickle his nose with a feather. (p. 55).
Health and Medicine ***** An incredible medical discovery was Dr. J. Collis Browne’s Chlorodyne, which promised to ‘assuage pain of every kind’ from toothache to cancer. Another doctor provided a testimonial saying that nine doses had cured him of diarrhea. Perhaps the mixture of chloroform, tincture of cannabis and laudanum made the doctor not care about the sickness as he chose instead to enjoy the nine doses. (p.71).
Coincidence and Luck ***** Mr. Thomas Ellis and his friend Mr. John Kester were both in declining health and near death. Kester sent a message to his friend saying that he would soon meet him on the “other side” of death. One hour after the news, both were dead. “They were born on the same day and hour, and died on the same day and hour, aged seventy-five.” (p. 91).
Sport, Hobbies, and Pastimes ***** Several members of a boat club committed to a long-distance canoe trip. The journey would begin at midnight bound for a distant neighboring town. After rowing until dawn, the rowers discovered they had failed to weigh anchor and were never more than a few feet from their starting point. (p.99).
Inventions ***** An American invented a tapeworm trap. Housed in a capsule, the afflicted would fast a few days before swallowing the medicine. A small string leading from the capsule would attract a hungry tapeworm which would detect food inside the capsule. The tapeworm would pull on the line; the spring-loaded capsule would open, the tapeworm would try to extract the food and be trapped when the jaws of the capsule closed. The patient would then pull on the end of a different string to pull the capsule out of his body, much like fishing. Rinse and repeat. (p. 116).
Life and Death ***** Brooklyn Dr. Park was observing undertakers carrying the body of his wife when Mrs. Park sat up completely conscious. The shock, along with other illnesses caused Dr. Park to die immediately. (p. 118).
Superstition, Belief and the Supernatural ***** Mother Shipton, a well-known predictor of the future, forecast that the world would end in 1881. Kate, a 10-year-old girl, read and believed the prophecies. Kate even knew the night it would happen. She told her parents and went to bed. In the early morning hours, Kate had a fit, a doctor was called, and Kate died two hours later. The power of belief in superstition was durable. (p. 159).
Crime and Punishment ***** A woman in France wound up in court when she refused to pay for a glass eye. She claimed that it did not help her see at all and that she had been tricked into believing false expectations. (p. 180).
Wagers ***** In a political wager, Henry Winsted of Indiana, promised to engage in a butting match with a full-grown ram if Mr. McKinley was elected,; while should Mr. Bryan be the victor, John Burns, of the same town, would drink three pints of hard cider while standing on his head in a barrel. (p. 193).
Accidents and Disasters ***** A man who did not trust in banks withdrew his life savings and concealed the money in a drawer in his home. All the notes were eaten away by mice. There was a happy ending. (p. 202).
Fashion and Clothes ***** An outbreak of rheumatic fever that left the fondly regarded Princess Alexandra (Scotland) lame. As she was a trend-setter, fashion-conscious women in the capital were soon to be seen affecting a hobble. Boot makers even designed special boots to induce healthy citizens to appear afflicted. (p. 211).
Arts and Entertainment ***** An operatic star, Mlle Hading, during a performance in Paris was pelted by thrown cabbages, potatoes, and similar missiles. It was said that Mlle. Hading had captivated the husband of the amateur pitcher. (p. 223).
And Finally, … ***** A shower of meat lasting two or three minutes fell on Benicia, California in 1851. There are multiple explanations as to the origin of the meat. (p.236).
What Happened Next? ***** This section is reserved for the author to go back to several incidents described in the book and follow up to answer the question, “Where are they now?” The answer is a very satisfactory wrap-up, which should please readers as they discover not everyone died, not every event had a tragic ending. (p. 244-247).
I found this collection of oddities a fascinating Saturday morning read. Perhaps the examples from each section will encourage others to explore the weird reporting at the turn of a distant century reported in this collection. Does such reporting occur today? The question is almost rhetorical.
June 9, 2018
Just a fun little collection of odd, bizarre, amusing and just plain messed up things that happened around the world during the good ol' Victorian days. This just convinced me that the Victorian age was a wild ride from start to finish and I, for one, would not have lived long.
June 21, 2018
I have to admit, I requested this book based on the title - you don't really hear about weird Victorian news these days (or I suppose any day since most people don't read the Victorian newspapers).
The Burglar Caught by a Skeleton is basically a collection of weird Victorian news stories that may be exaggerated or made up (or perhaps reality really is that strange). The topics covered range from animals (lots of wild animals in Britain, apparently), to health and medicine, and even wagers. Some of the weirder stories include monkeys committing suicide a large, headless turkey ghost. The latter half of the book is quite sad, though, since it covers tragic incidents rather than the ludicrous. The last section is a brief follow up on some of the stories.
While the stories are definitely strange and unbelievable, they aren't told in a very interesting way. It seems like the newspapers like to report things rather drily, so this isn't really a book that I wanted to binge. It was, however, pleasant to read it over several sittings, to take in the strangeness that managed to pass as news back then.
By the way, the titular burglar caught by a skeleton is really what it says. A burglar was in the house of a doctor, got his hand caught by a skeleton while fumbling in the dark, and then promptly fainted and was found by the doctor whose house he was in.
Looks like skeletons may be better than guard dogs.
Overall, this was an interesting collection of stories that will appeal to people who like weird and obscure history.
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
The Burglar Caught by a Skeleton is basically a collection of weird Victorian news stories that may be exaggerated or made up (or perhaps reality really is that strange). The topics covered range from animals (lots of wild animals in Britain, apparently), to health and medicine, and even wagers. Some of the weirder stories include monkeys committing suicide a large, headless turkey ghost. The latter half of the book is quite sad, though, since it covers tragic incidents rather than the ludicrous. The last section is a brief follow up on some of the stories.
While the stories are definitely strange and unbelievable, they aren't told in a very interesting way. It seems like the newspapers like to report things rather drily, so this isn't really a book that I wanted to binge. It was, however, pleasant to read it over several sittings, to take in the strangeness that managed to pass as news back then.
By the way, the titular burglar caught by a skeleton is really what it says. A burglar was in the house of a doctor, got his hand caught by a skeleton while fumbling in the dark, and then promptly fainted and was found by the doctor whose house he was in.
Looks like skeletons may be better than guard dogs.
Overall, this was an interesting collection of stories that will appeal to people who like weird and obscure history.
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
This review was first posted at Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
January 18, 2023
The Burglar Caught by a Skeleton and Other Singular Tales from the Victorian Press is a collection of eclectic and often downright bizarre newspaper articles from the Victorian era. The newspapers are all British, but some of the stories deal with incidents outside the United Kingdom, remarked upon in British newspapers at the time. I must say that, although the book is clearly intended to be humourous, many of the stories are downright tragic, and it takes a good deal of black humour to find some of them even remotely funny. Although the book is organised by subject, i.e., food and drink, crime and punishment, entertainment and the arts etc., the book can't be called structured. Each little paragraph is a newspaper clipping from some British newspaper from some year during the reign of Queen Victoria, and there's very little general comment at the beginning of each chapter to provide any context. While the book provides a fascinating and often enigmatic glimpse of a by-gone age, I can't say that I personally found it entertaining enough to keep me engaged, and I honestly had some trouble getting through it. Recommended to fans of black humour and everyday history, but there are better books out there.
August 4, 2019
For lovers of Victoriana, this will be of great interest. It's an interesting collection of articles, some of them funny, some of them just plain horrendous.
The introductions to each chapter really didn't add much to the book, but I find the articles don't really need an introduction. I would have liked to read a more thorough historical study of the articles though, but that's the historian in me speaking.
It can be highly frustrating at time as the end of the story isn't always given in the article, but it's a real eye-opener into Victorian society.
Some claim that people have gotten more stupid with the rise of Internet, but quite frankly after reading this book I'm just convinced that mankind has always been stupid and didn't need the Internet for that...
A fun read you can dip in and out of easily, but that remains quite compelling!
Disclaimer - I received a free digital copy of this book courtesy of Thistle Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The introductions to each chapter really didn't add much to the book, but I find the articles don't really need an introduction. I would have liked to read a more thorough historical study of the articles though, but that's the historian in me speaking.
It can be highly frustrating at time as the end of the story isn't always given in the article, but it's a real eye-opener into Victorian society.
Some claim that people have gotten more stupid with the rise of Internet, but quite frankly after reading this book I'm just convinced that mankind has always been stupid and didn't need the Internet for that...
A fun read you can dip in and out of easily, but that remains quite compelling!
Disclaimer - I received a free digital copy of this book courtesy of Thistle Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 16, 2018
This book kick starts off to a fun start! I can imagine a teenaged Queen Victoria actually writing the entry in her diary! Lol! It just gets funnier (and sometimes more shocking!) from there! If one likes odd stories found in the newspaper, this one from vintage British newspapers will be right up there alley! Drunk monkey wrecking pub, mummified cats (180,000 of them...) married brother and sister, just lots of weird, odd stories! Doesn't need to be read all at once, but I had a hard time putting it down as one story, leads to another!
I received a Kindle ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
I received a Kindle ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a fair review.
January 15, 2022
An interesting collection of genuine Victorian news articles. Some humorous, some tragic, some just bizarre. A few of the reports have their contemporary b&w illustrations to go with them (of the ‘Illustrated Police News’ variety), which were also quite entertaining. A good book to keep dipping into.
July 30, 2017
Some of the stories were amusing, some were disgusting and some nothing short of depressing. I enjoyed the book overall, but I admit I expected more crazy and more funny things to come out of it then it eventually did.
July 17, 2018
19th Century stories of everyday people. Loved these glimpses into another time! I received a copy from NetGalley and this is my honest review.
January 31, 2020
I loved this collection of interesting news stories. The stories are short, sometimes funny, sometimes tragic. A good quick read.
March 11, 2020
A silly book with some laugh-out-loud moments, credited to the language used. Made it worth reading to me.
May 27, 2022
Interesting and amusing
October 5, 2024
Fascinating read. Often funny, equally often morbid and horrifying, it can get a bit repetitive all the same.
November 1, 2013
I got ecstatic by it’s look. A book’s cover and its entire aspect is a very important factor for me. If your doing the art of writing, why ruin it by not taking serious the art of graphics? Jeremy Clay’s book did not disappointed me at all, on the contrary, I love the cover and I love it’s interior (it is has so many great illustrations and victorian frames, make it so much pleasant to read)
The book is a selection of funny, eccentric, spooky and weird news from the victorian time. I thought this was really genius, I can only imagine being a journalist who research this kind of thing (I love learning things that happened a long time ago) and having the idea of sharing. If you dig deep enough you find so many pieces you’d never thought o finding.
You can read this book from beginning to end, but I see it more as a bedside table book, where you can read a little bit before you sleep, or if you wake up feeling grumpy, just open it and read one or two tales, it will make you feel better. Take it on your backpack, if you are waiting for the dentist you won’t see the time passing by.
The tales are divided by themes (like animals, medicine, coincidence or luck, inventions, supernatural, these are just examples of what kind of news you can find), each theme as a preface followed by the pieces.
The content is so varied, you can find different stories for different moods. The best is to see the year and where it was published, it kind of makes me feel more connected to it, feel it more real.
I recommend for every type of public, if you are a filmmaker as I am, this can elucidate you creativity, if you like ancient history, this is a funny way to travel that time, if you are just someone who enjoys nice books with nice stories, go ahead.
It is a very easy read.
FOR A COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED REVIEW GO TO http://myvisualmoments.wordpress.com/...
The book is a selection of funny, eccentric, spooky and weird news from the victorian time. I thought this was really genius, I can only imagine being a journalist who research this kind of thing (I love learning things that happened a long time ago) and having the idea of sharing. If you dig deep enough you find so many pieces you’d never thought o finding.
You can read this book from beginning to end, but I see it more as a bedside table book, where you can read a little bit before you sleep, or if you wake up feeling grumpy, just open it and read one or two tales, it will make you feel better. Take it on your backpack, if you are waiting for the dentist you won’t see the time passing by.
The tales are divided by themes (like animals, medicine, coincidence or luck, inventions, supernatural, these are just examples of what kind of news you can find), each theme as a preface followed by the pieces.
The content is so varied, you can find different stories for different moods. The best is to see the year and where it was published, it kind of makes me feel more connected to it, feel it more real.
I recommend for every type of public, if you are a filmmaker as I am, this can elucidate you creativity, if you like ancient history, this is a funny way to travel that time, if you are just someone who enjoys nice books with nice stories, go ahead.
It is a very easy read.
FOR A COMPLETE ILLUSTRATED REVIEW GO TO http://myvisualmoments.wordpress.com/...
May 17, 2023
The Burglar Caught by a Skeleton and Other Singular Tales from the Victorian Press [2013] – ★★★★
This book is a compilation of bizarre news articles from the Victorian era divided into various categories: Love and Marriage, Animals, Food and Drink, Health and Medicine, Arts and Entertainment, Coincidence and Luck, Crime and Punishment, etc. Appealing to those who are morbidly curious, most stories are unbelievable, some have an amusing aspect to them, while others are also quite traumatising and no laughing matter, especially since they happened as a result of poisons being freely bought and sold, adulterated food and drink consumed, serious respiratory illnesses and other diseases being treated with powerful narcotics, and new scientific discoveries and inventions misused. There are stories of somnambulists, deadly bets, and women disguising themselves as men. There are also such extraordinary, but sad cases as, a child found drunk after going to a pub to make a collection; a citizen of Eastbourne driving four nails into his brain and miraculously surviving without any adverse effects; a presumably dead woman discovered alive only after her photographer started to compare his photos of her “corpse”; a man killed by a coffin at another man’s funeral; and a duel being fought in hot-air balloons.
This book is a compilation of bizarre news articles from the Victorian era divided into various categories: Love and Marriage, Animals, Food and Drink, Health and Medicine, Arts and Entertainment, Coincidence and Luck, Crime and Punishment, etc. Appealing to those who are morbidly curious, most stories are unbelievable, some have an amusing aspect to them, while others are also quite traumatising and no laughing matter, especially since they happened as a result of poisons being freely bought and sold, adulterated food and drink consumed, serious respiratory illnesses and other diseases being treated with powerful narcotics, and new scientific discoveries and inventions misused. There are stories of somnambulists, deadly bets, and women disguising themselves as men. There are also such extraordinary, but sad cases as, a child found drunk after going to a pub to make a collection; a citizen of Eastbourne driving four nails into his brain and miraculously surviving without any adverse effects; a presumably dead woman discovered alive only after her photographer started to compare his photos of her “corpse”; a man killed by a coffin at another man’s funeral; and a duel being fought in hot-air balloons.
March 18, 2015
As the title suggests, The Burglar Caught By a Skeleton and Other Singular Tales from the Victorian Press, by Jeremy Clay, is a compendium of news stories culled from various newspapers around Great Britain during the reign of Queen Victoria, who ruled the British Empire from 1837 to 1901. Most of the stories are short, fanciful and rather silly; some are quite dramatic and a few are pathetic too. I found it fun going, but obviously this is not meant to be read straight through, cover to cover; rather, it is best dipped into a bit at a time, to be enjoyed and then forgotten. Each chapter covers a topic such as animals, love and marriage, arts and entertainment, life and death, etc., etc., and the author provides a brief introduction to each subject in order to give the reader some understanding of how such subjects were viewed in those days. Overall, an entertaining, if slight, reading experience.
August 28, 2015
A truly hilarious read. This book takes excerpts from Victorian newspapers and groups them by theme for each chapter with a little forward written by the author, but otherwise offers no commentary so these amazing articles can stand on their own. The way Victorians tend to write comes across as a lot of wry humor and it's really, really funny. I took one star off because there is one chapter, Catastrophes, which doesn't match in tone to the rest of the book. It's just bad accidents, not anything "weird" or fun and quirky. Other than that it's a superb book and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a good look at the history of newspapers, "weird" history, Victorian culture, or just a fun short read.
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August 23, 2014
It all began, as these things so often do, with a drink. One drink, which led to another, then more besides. Each one, generously given by a genial customer. Each one eagerly slurped by the monkey chained to the bar.
But after four cocktails the Coney Island jackanapes started to mislay its manners. It demanded yet more booze. When its benefactor refused, it seized a whisky bottle and knocked him senseless to the floor.
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September 9, 2014
Loved loved loved this book. I am not normally a huge fan of books filled with history, however Jeremy Clay has selected only the funniest, most heartbreaking and shocking of stories from the Victorian Press that will leave you in tears, whether in laughter or sadness. The opening to each chapter begins with an overview from the author himself, who writes incredibly well and gives you a preview of whats to come in each chapter, which definitely makes it more personal- rather than a who.e load of articles thrown together and called a book! Would recommend to anybody, lovers of history or not. Jeremy Clay has done fantastically with this masterpiece.
November 30, 2016
I probably enjoyed Jeremy Clay's book "The Burglar Caught by a Skeleton and Other Singluar Tales from the Victorian Press" a bit more than others would if they don't have a newspaper background.
The book is a series of stories published in the Victorian-era Press-- usually with a bizarre angle. Many are probably made up, others have a bit of a ring of truth to them. It was fun to see sensational stories from that era, even though some were a little silly.
I read this while waiting in the carpool lane at my son's school... it was the perfect book to read there since the snippets are super short and it was easy to stop quickly.
The book is a series of stories published in the Victorian-era Press-- usually with a bizarre angle. Many are probably made up, others have a bit of a ring of truth to them. It was fun to see sensational stories from that era, even though some were a little silly.
I read this while waiting in the carpool lane at my son's school... it was the perfect book to read there since the snippets are super short and it was easy to stop quickly.
March 11, 2015
Seems like a great idea for a book, but not as entertaining as I hoped it would be, really. I would have preferred the extracts ordered semi-randomly, instead of by subject, to give more of a lucky dip feel. Chronologically perhaps. But maybe the real problem is the very dry tone of Victorian journalism.
December 26, 2013
Entertaining, but difficult to read in one sitting. I loved the language used by the Victorians, I have decided I would like to have my personal obituary say I expired! A must read for students of English language.
October 24, 2013
Quite enjoyable. Gives a glance into British society of the Victorian age. My only quibble is that sometimes when starting a chapter the author talks about one of the upcoming articles with so much detail that it's like you read that article twice.
January 19, 2015
Just a super little mishmash of newspaper reports of the bizarre, the weird and the frankly gory. Wild beasts, dead children, women taken in sin and everything else the Victorians loved to read about. A perfect dipping into book.
June 21, 2015
Eh. I guess if I knew this book was just a collection of crazy Victorian news stories, I would have liked it more. I was expecting more analysis of why these tales were so popular, and why so many clearly fictitious stories were easily believed. This is not that book.
September 25, 2013
Please view my full review here: http://mwgerard.com/of-weird-news-and...
June 7, 2014
Oh I did immensely enjoy this book! Bonkers tales full of the Victorian Gothic Penny-Dreadful, Gin Lane horrors, with their wonderfully lewd and over-the-top graphic illustrations - so much fun!
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