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The suspicions of Mr. WhicherShelf life: Looking at secular booksTHE SUSPICIONS OF MR. WHICHER This is not a work of fiction, though its title and dust jacket suggest as much. Instead, it is a brilliantly written examination of one of the 19th century’s most notorious murders. On June 29 1860, Samuel and Mary Kent awoke to find their beloved three-year-old son not in his bed. After a short search, his body was found in the servant’s outside privy with his throat cut. And so began a murder case which gripped the nation and was only resolved five years later when a former suspect voluntarily confessed to the killing. A prosperous, rural home had been invaded by an apparently motiveless violence, a cherubic child murdered, and the new breed of detectives seemed unsuccessful. Crime and the pressNewspapers were full of their own opinions and theories, local people threw in their suspicions and friends of the family offered up their analyses. Kate Summerscale shows that the public fascination with violent crime, particularly when found in a middle-class environment, was as rife 150 years ago as it is today (echoes of Madeline McCann, perhaps?). And, uncomfortably, as I read, I found myself to be part of that voyeuristic crowd enjoying the grim details of other people’s horror, hungry to see what happened next in this real life story. Was my fascination acceptable because this tragedy happened so long ago? How much of what I was feeling was empathy and how much unhealthy curiosity? I don’t know if I’ve resolved these questions yet. NovelistsDickens, Wilkie Collins and Arthur Conan Doyle were all very influenced by this case, not only by the setting and the crime, but also by Jack Whicher, Scotland Yard’s man at the scene. Born into the poor labouring classes in London, he entered the drawing room of the wealthy Kent family, and examined their secrets with cool deduction. You can see his figure in plenty of TV series and books now Ð Inspector Morse particularly springs to mind. His successes and failures were seized upon by the press and, when the case was dropped through lack of evidence, he was publicly scorned; his suspicions proved right in the end. Remorse and repentanceThe last part of the book follows the trail of the murderer, who escaped the death penalty after the intervention of famous names, among them Charles Spurgeon. Fascinatingly, Summerscale has her own theory about the murder, hinted at by Whicher but proved by evidence only available in the 20th century. For me, this part of the book raised really important questions about the nature of remorse and repentance as well as the limits of our justice system. We are enabled to see the murderer of a beautiful child, not as a monster of evil, a Myra Hindley frozen in time, nor as a person deranged by circumstance, but a normal, rational being culpable of a very evil crime. Though Summerscale’s book doesn’t discuss the justice of the case, Spurgeon’s sermon is an interesting starting point, discussing how mercy is the right response to remorse. This is an engaging, excellently written and suggestive book. Whether or not you’re a real fan of detective fiction (I’m not), do try and read it. In a violent age, which is confused about justice and mercy, The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher' will stimulate important thought. Sarah Allen© Evangelicals Now - August 2008 |