Victorian Crime, Madness and Sensation

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Exploring the intersection of crime, madness, and sensationalism in the Victorian era, this collection of essays delves into societal attitudes towards deviance from Queen Victoria's reign to the fin-de-siècle period. It highlights the era's obsession with criminal psychology through both real-life cases and fictional narratives by authors like Ainsworth, Stevenson, and Stoker. Key topics include evolving definitions of criminality, the media's portrayal of crime, the criminalization of specific sexual acts, and the influence of science and technology on criminal investigations.