Each true crime is described in precise detail, and a vivid picture
painted of the characters and their often wretched lives. David Parry
draws on the original reports of the crimes and trials, including
fascinating first-hand testimony from the accused and witnesses, and the
grave comments of the judges. All the accused in this book were found
guilty, and to further chill the soul, the stark details of their
executions are laid out in black and white. What makes this excellent
book so haunting, though, is that the author doesn't sensationalize the
accounts, preferring instead to let the cold, hard facts speak for
themselves. So when we hear about 25-yearold Richard Morgan we learn
that the 'attack was so vicious that he was propelled across the
street'. Or Ann Worthington, whose drunken husband 'gave her one kick in
the abdomen with such force that it broke one of her stays'. And what
about poor 9-yearold Alice Barnes, 'suffocated by a handkerchief that
had been pushed down her throat'? What Murder in Victorian Liverpool
shows all too clearly is that reality is more shocking than fiction, and
that human nature can be awful to behold. Definitely essential reading
for anyone interested in crime, punishment, and Liverpool's past.
