Murder by Candlelight The Gruesome Crimes Behind Our Romance with the Macabre — Content Guide for Parents
Found in this book
- ViolenceCentral
- Scary contentSupporting
- Sexual contentBrief
Not found
- Religion
- Race & culture
- Climate
- Gender roles
- Gender & orientation
Couldn't confirm
- Profanity
- Profanity: The sources do not show the book's wording, so swearing cannot be confirmed or ruled out.
Content themes
Factual summary of themes present in this book. No opinion — just the facts.
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Religion
PRESENTContains references to prayer and church attendance. A minister character plays a supporting role in two chapters.
About this book
In the early nineteenth century, a series of murders took place in and around London which shocked the whole of England. The appalling nature of the crimes--a brutal slaying in the gambling netherworld, the slaughter of two entire households, and the first of the modern lust-murders--was magnified not only by the lurid atmosphere of an age in which candlelight gave way to gaslight, but also by the efforts of some of the keenest minds of the period to uncover the gruesomest details of the killings.
These slayings all took place against the backdrop of a London in which the splendor of the fashionable world was haunted by the squalor of the slums. Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron, Thomas De Quincey, Thomas Carlyle, and Percy Bysshe Shelley and others were fascinated by the blood and deviltry of these crimes.
In their contemplations of the most notorious murders of their time, they discerned in the act of killing itself a depth of hideousness that we have lost sight of, now living in an age in which murder has been reduced to a problem of social science and skillful detective work. Interweaving these cultural vignettes alongside criminal history, acclaimed author Michael Beran paints a vivid picture of a time when homicide was thought of as the intrusion of the diabolic into ordinary life.
Frequently asked questions
Is Murder by Candlelight The Gruesome Crimes Behind Our Romance with the Macabre appropriate for a 7-year-old?
The book recounts real murders in detail, including the bludgeoning of two households and the shooting, stabbing and throat-cutting of William Weare. The book describes gruesome real murders and is billed as giving a terrifying look at horror, though one reader says the crimes are told plainly with little suspense.
Does Murder by Candlelight The Gruesome Crimes Behind Our Romance with the Macabre have violence?
Found (Central): The book recounts real murders in detail, including the bludgeoning of two households and the shooting, stabbing and throat-cutting of William Weare.
Does Murder by Candlelight The Gruesome Crimes Behind Our Romance with the Macabre have scary content?
Found (Supporting): The book describes gruesome real murders and is billed as giving a terrifying look at horror, though one reader says the crimes are told plainly with little suspense.
Does Murder by Candlelight The Gruesome Crimes Behind Our Romance with the Macabre have religion?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Murder by Candlelight The Gruesome Crimes Behind Our Romance with the Macabre have race & culture?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Murder by Candlelight The Gruesome Crimes Behind Our Romance with the Macabre have profanity?
Couldn't confirm: The sources do not show the book's wording, so swearing cannot be confirmed or ruled out.
Does Murder by Candlelight The Gruesome Crimes Behind Our Romance with the Macabre have climate?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Murder by Candlelight The Gruesome Crimes Behind Our Romance with the Macabre have sexual content?
Found (Brief): The book covers a murder described as 'the first of the modern lust-murders' and mentions street prostitutes, but the sources describe no sexual scenes.
Does Murder by Candlelight The Gruesome Crimes Behind Our Romance with the Macabre have gender roles?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Murder by Candlelight The Gruesome Crimes Behind Our Romance with the Macabre have gender & orientation?
Not found in the sources we checked.
