Black swine in the sewers of Hampstead: beneath the surface of Victorian sensationalism

Abstract

This book examines the development of sensationalism and the reporting of crime in the popular press and literature of mid-Victorian Britain, and its nature and causes. The author looks at the origins of source material obtained by novelists like Charles Dickens and Wilkie Collins, and reveals the extent and reportage of crime during this period and the disparity between the official image of Victorian Britain as the superior, highly moral and tranquil society. The author argues that the use of this material in the popular literature of the period was a deliberate attempt to undermine Victorian officialdom. The result is an enquiry into the significance of crime and sexuality in the newspapers and literature of this period.