The Wicked Boy

The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer

By: Kate Summerscale

Narrated by: Corrie James

Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

Early in the morning of Monday, July 8, 1895, 13-year-old Robert Coombes and his 12-year-old brother, Nattie, set out from their small, yellow-brick terraced house in East London to watch a cricket match at Lord's. Their father had gone to sea the previous Friday, the boys told their neighbors, and their mother was visiting her family in Liverpool.

Over the next 10 days, Robert and Nattie spent extravagantly, pawning their parents' valuables to fund trips to the theatre and the seaside. But as the sun beat down on the Coombes house, a strange smell began to emanate from the building. When the police were finally called to investigate, the discovery they made sent the press into a frenzy of horror and alarm, and Robert and Nattie were swept up in a criminal trial that echoed the outrageous plots of the penny dreadful novels that Robert loved to read.

In The Wicked Boy, Kate Summerscale has uncovered a fascinating true story of murder and morality. It is not just a meticulous examination of a shocking Victorian case but also a compelling account of its aftermath and of man's capacity to overcome the past.

©2016 Kate Summerscale (P)2016 Recorded Books

A Complex Story

At times this book is very slow and seems overly complex. However, it was worth getting to the final chapter.

Full of Surprises

As in her book about Mr. Wicher, K. Summerscale challenged many of my assumptions about how people lived, their attitudes and what they believed in the pre-WWII British Empire. I am amazed by the evident capacity for kindness and understanding practised by many Victorians for even the most wretched of their fellows.

Depiction of Life and Times Not Just the Crime

What did you love best about The Wicked Boy?

Summerscale provides an excellent picture of the life and times surrounding the story, not just a narrative of the crime, arrest and trial. She takes us into the heart of London and shows us who lived there and how they lived, thrived, and died.

What other book might you compare The Wicked Boy to and why?

Batavia's Graveyard by Mike Dash.

Great book!

Very interesting, it's like glimpsing into the past. The author did an excellent job in her research and telling of this boys story

Interesting story but...

Too many tangents and it seemed overly long due to extraneous stories. It should be pared down a little and it would be better.

The author did outstanding research

The narrator was wonderful, giving a flavor of life in England. The author did an outstanding job of research into this time period in history and into the life of Robert Coombes.

The kind of book you’re glad to have listened to.

Excellent narration. Fantastic historical work of non-fiction. Kudos to the author and narrator. I enjoyed it!

A Historical “True Crime” with So Much More

This wasn’t just about a murder and the trial that followed. The author went so far beyond, and followed what happened for the rest of the Wicked Boy’s life, which was an eye opener. It truly informed how the reader sees the crime and the boy who at the center of the story.

There was what might be considered extraneous information about characters who might have crossed paths with him, but I was fascinated by their stories, and was glad they were included. Very goal oriented readers might call this padding. I certainly will not. I listened straight through, and highly recommend this book to others.

Well done!

Fascinating story, well written and well narrated.
Kate Summerscale has done a masterful job researching and retelling this story and the surprising twist that follows.

Interesting, but slow.

Good subject and mostly interesting. A little too much detail on Victoria England and WWI. The narrator was very good.