In this third collection of essays and investigations into 'The Criminal World of Sherlock Holmes,' Kelvin I. Jones shows just why the Holmes stories were so convincingly original. He reveals not only that Conan Doyle was an expert in the subject of criminalistics, but that he knew the identity of Jack the Ripper. The book provides a wide survey of the criminals of the period, including accounts of its vicious garrotters, cunning coiners and safe breakers, and contains a biography of the king of burglars, Charles Peace. Jones considers the literary antecedents of the crime story which Doyle perfected with his character, the forensic consulting detective. This last volume is unique in its depth of research, providing the reader with a fascinating insight into the dark shadow world of Victorian society, and featuring long forgotten accounts of its methods, murders and bloody mayhem.
