Classic Crimes

William Roughead, the pre-eminent Scottish crime essayist, gathers accounts of celebrated British murder trials spanning several centuries in this influential 1951 collection. His learned, gently ironic style, blending courtroom drama, social history and a connoisseur's relish for the macabre, defined the true-crime essay tradition and influenced generations of crime writers.

ISBN 9780940322462 · New York Review Books · 1951