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A History of Modern Britain in Twenty Murders

Brief Description
In this groundbreaking new book from the UK's leading criminologist, David Wilson explores what our nation's most lethal murderers reveal about us in a thrilling blend of history and true crime. Professor David Wilson is renowned for deciphering the hidden motives of murderers and the context... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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In this groundbreaking new book from the UK's leading criminologist, David Wilson explores what our nation's most lethal murderers reveal about us in a thrilling blend of history and true crime.

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In this groundbreaking new book from the UK's leading criminologist, David Wilson explores what our nation's most lethal murderers reveal about us in a thrilling blend of history and true crime.

Professor David Wilson is renowned for deciphering the hidden motives of murderers and the context in which crimes took place. In A History of Modern Britain in Twenty Murders, he zooms out to look at the big picture, examining what multiple murders across a range of eras can tell us about our past... and our present.

Told in Wilson's absorbing style, this is a fresh look at crimes and points in history we think we know. Ranging from the crimes of Jack the Ripper and the shocking "Brides in the Bath" deaths, to the tragic murders of James Bulger and Sarah Everard, Wilson reveals why some cases particularly resonate with and reverberate through public consciousness, and how they can help us understand Britain's complex, diverse and ongoing history.

From colonial wars and the end of the empire, to the Blitz, through the swinging sixties, into the nineties all the way to present day, this is a truly fascinating and accessible approach to both history and criminology, always centring the victims, that will leave readers questioning the wider impact of the next murder case that grips Britain.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781408734520

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 18 September 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Sphere

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 22.0mm

Width: 153.0mm

Height: 234.0mm

Weight: 520g

Pages: 432

About the Author

David Wilson is Emeritus Professor of Criminology and the founding Director of the Centre for Applied Criminology at Birmingham City University. Prior to taking up an academic appointment in 1997, David was a prison governor working at a variety of establishments in a number of different roles.

Professor Wilson appears in the print and broadcast media as a commentator and presenter. His publishing includes Hunting Evil, A History of British Serial Killing, Signs of Murder, A Plot to Kill and his professional memoir, My Life with Murderers, which was shortlisted for the Saltire Prize for Non-Fiction.

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