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The Wicked Boy

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The Wicked Boy

By: Kate Summerscale
Narrated by: Jot Davies
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About this listen

Early in the morning of Monday, 8 July 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 neighbours, 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 Audible, Ltd True Crime Crime Inspiring Thought-Provoking

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Critic reviews

"A beautiful piece, written with great lucidity and respect for the listener, and with immaculate restraint. A classic, to my mind, of the finest documentary writing." (John le Carre)
"Summerscale has constructed nothing less than a masterpiece.... My shelves are stacked with books about crime, but none more satisfying than this." (Craig Brown, Mail on Sunday)
All stars
Most relevant  
Provides much food for thought. Kate Summerscale's research has been meticulous. Absorbing, educational and recommended.

Excellent in every respect.

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It's partly the narration and partly the ending that out me off. This is the second book I'vebought with the same narrator and he just irritates me.


Some spoilers ahead....
As for the story, I quite liked the beginning - learning about his childhood and the time he spent in Broadmoor but the war and Australia bored me to tears. I fell asleep on the first listen, so went back to a point I recognised and started there. I found myself thinking about work on the second listen - jump back a few more chapters - on the third listen I just gave up. Not a book I will recommend to anyone.

Just seemed to go on and on and on...

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Fascinating and ultimately very moving true story underpinned by a wealth of factual detail on a huge variety of topics - like the history of Broadmoor and the Gallipoli landings. Well and very clearly read.

A remarkable true story

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It’s hard to see how such a nice guy could really do such a thing and yet, apparently he did. I’ll say no more on that subject tough since it will spoil what is a really well researched story of fantasy and possible temperary insanity. It’s amazing what they got away with then in court. They’d never get away with it now. The style of narration is a bit flamboyant in places but otherwise a very engaging read.

did he really do it?

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Summerscale lets the facts speak for themselves. Her research is meticulous; summaries of theories succinct and clear. This is a fascinating account that all parents, teachers, mental health professionals and members of the justice system and military would do well to read/listen to.
Having said that, I found the narration really off-putting. Diction could not be faulted but oddly robotic delivery, with little tonal variation. It was weird - clearly a good voice but oddly constrained. Poor direction?

Brilliant story - irritating narration

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An interesting and enthralling true crime story from the Victorian era that is full of fascinating details, and with a surprise thing and uplifting finale.

Wonderful

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Something about this didn't click with me at all.

It's something to do with the way the author has presented the story, deciding on a meticulously researched, factual account of the case from day one.

While I more than respect the work that has been done, a lot of the writing seems inconsequential to the case itself, such as an anecdote of a policeman being beaten by a newspaper-seller. I assume this was done to set the scene, as well as fill out a book that refuses to speculate on anything or even attempt to explain actions, but what results is a lot of details about things that have nothing to do with the main plot of the book.

Not only that, but the way the information is presented results in a dry, emotionless account of something shocking. We are never given a chance to get close to anyone, not the boys themselves or the prosecutors.

We are just bystanders reading information in a dry case-history that reads more as an overly detailed police report than anything else.

There is no attempt to do anything other than give us a report of the situation in a dry, factual style that served to bore me more than anything, especially considering the length and amount of filler the writer shoves into her work.

As such, I was so bored by the whole thing that I gave up. Not a terrible work by any means, but top dry to be even the least bit shocking once you get over its initial premise.

Just the Facts, Ma'am

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Would you listen to The Wicked Boy again? Why?

I've listened to it twice.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Wicked Boy?

The absolute attention to detail and thorougher research on this darkest of tales, I'm not prepared to give anything away about the plot. Others have in their reviews.What I got from this book more than anything is that the author had an almost preternatural connection with the "villain" and to have followed his life from birth to death and all that happened in between.The circumstances of The Wicked Boy's crime sound true even today, over 115 years ago. Then they had Penny Dreadful's.. Today we have the internet.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Jot Davies?

The only downside is the Director. The narrator, Jot Davies sounded more like he was narrating a TV documentary.This is NOT a problem with the overall narration but with the direction...

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me think that not all people are born bad. and that even those who are guilty of the despicable act of matricide are capable of acts of true heroism

Any additional comments?

As the old saying goes. You have to go thru a whole lot of Shawshank before you get to the redemption. But as with the book, and the film, the ending is wonderful.Throw caution to the wind, buy this book. I promise. You wont be disappointed

Totally Blown Away

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I loved this book and was totally taken aback on the direction it went in.
I would recommend this book to everyone.

wonderful,sad, amazing

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If you could sum up The Wicked Boy in three words, what would they be?

Superb social history

What did you like best about this story?

That it was true and very well researched.

What about Jot Davies’s performance did you like?

Straightforward

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No because the ground covered was so diverse it needed gaps to digest the different stages, it was not a fast exciting novel but a very engrossing tale of someone's quite extraordinary life.

Any additional comments?

I loved the fact that not only was this a real life but that it was recognised for the good things not an acount of misery as it could have been.

Interesting and uplifting despite all the bad times

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