The Devil's Children: A History of Childhood and Murder

by Loretta Loach

"A dramatic, passionate, essential read for every teacher, social worker, therapist, judge and editor of national newspapers."— Anglo American Book This book offers a true-crime history of children who kill and how adults have tried to make sense of them. Focusing on the earliest recorded cases up to the present day, this fascinating investigation explores how these unusual crimes were as pivotal then as they are now in wider deliberations about childhood, morality, and the troubling boundaries between innocence and experience. Loretta Loach has a PhD in history. She has written for the Guardian , The Observer , and New Statesman .

Genres: True Crime, History, Nonfiction, Crime, Psychology

336 pages, Hardcover

First published February 5, 2009

Reviews

[Deanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

At what age does someone know right from wrong and when can they be considered responsible. I remember the Bulger case and being horrified that the two murderers were so young. I even remember a friend defending the killers on the grounds that they didn't understand what they were doing was wrong. I think I pointed out that I had a nephew who was the same age, and I was certain that he would not have done the same thing.
At the end of the book the author also talks of the rehabilitation of James Bulger's killers, yet one has been imprisoned for child pornography as an adult.

[Meaghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting and thought-provoking study of children killing children in English history, from like the 1600s all the way up to the James Bulger killing of 1993, and the way society has attempted to deal with the problem over the years. The author cited specific, very detailed case studies of child killers ranging in age from six to fifteen.

This isn't really a true crime book, but more like a historical or sociological text. It's obviously an academic book but it's not too heavy and I read it quite comfortably in two sittings on one day. Anyone who's interested in the problem of juvenile crime would benefit from this; I only wish there were books like it for other countries, particularly the US.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The part about Thompson and Venables has aged really poorly, considering Venables is a paedophile who's back in prison and not, as Loach confidently claims, rehabilitated at all. Solidly researched, but a little agenda-driven.

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

An accurately researched and professionally presented account of children who kill other children. It should be studied by anyone with an interest in social work or criminal justice with young people. The accounts of the perpetrators' harrowing and dysfunctional upbringing can only assist in enlightening society as to the damage some parents inflict on their children and why crimes such as these will, sadly, continue to exist.

[Lauren Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This well-researched study of English children and murder is harrowing. One of the things it points to is that nothing changes -- neither the abuse of children, the effect it has on them, nor the unending stream of horrors mankind is capable of inflicting on each other. Recommended for those interested in social justice, the criminal justice system, particularly pertaining to minors. A little light on the psychology aspect, however, for a writer like me doing research.

[Alan Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly reassuring that we are possibly not all going to hell in a hand cart. There have been child murderers as long as there have been children and it is not limited to the monsters of today