Review: The Lady In The Cellar by Sinclair McKay

On 8th May 1879, the corpse of former resident, Matilda Hacker, was uncovered by chance in the coal cellar. The investigation that followed this macabre discovery stripped bare the shadow-side of Victorian domesticity, throwing the lives of everyone within into an extraordinary and destructive maelstrom. For someone in Number 4 Euston Square must have had full knowledge of what had happened to Matilda Hacker. Someone in that house had killed her. How could the murderer prove so amazingly elusive?

I love this type of mystery wherein a crime from some time past, with an unsatisfactory conclusion, is dusted off to see if further light can be shed on the mystery at hand. This is not a fictional account of what may or may not have happened; it is an open factual investigation which looks at the crime, the suspects, the criminal investigation at the time, and the conclusion.

Sinclair McKay gives us an overview of the times, in which the population was moving from a closed style of social system, to one in which was often transient, diverse, and anonymous. From an investigative perspective, the CID section of Scotland Yard was newly established and forensic science was developing yet rudimentary. Inspector Charles Hagen was selected due to his close associations and work with the German immigrant community (I liked that fact that he was a contemporary of Inspector Abbeline - later of Ripper fame).

The story as presented was fairly lengthy - I felt some of the components could have quite easily have been condensed: social commentary; family, witness, suspect backgrounds; the investigations and trials (in which the same evidence was presented thrice over). A number of possible scenarios are put forward at the end (though again inconclusive) after a wrap of of where everyone connected to the case ended up.

I realise a lot of research goes into the fleshing out these stories; however, sometimes less is more. When the reader is bombarded with too much information, attentions wander, pages are skipped, and the anticipated enjoyment of reading is lessened. Unfortunately, this is what I experienced. I think the inclusion of some visual aids - street plans, newspaper clippings, etc may have heightened my reading pleasure (I do look forward to these - my edition did not have these, however they may appear in the final published version). And, I wonder if presenting in a more abridged version (ie: adapted for television) may have conveyed enough information for a still engrossing story. 

Having said that, there are many who will definitely love this story in the format presented - though I will add that I did not dislike the book itself just felt a little more subjective editing was required.

Further Reading:

@ Old Bailey Proceedings - Siwerin Bastendorff

@ Town & Country Journal - Euston Square Mystery

@ Canterbury Archaeology - Intriguing Story of Matilda Hacker

@ Murder Research - Victorian Trials 1870 - 1879

@ Mysteries of Police & Crime by Arthur Griffiths (Euston Square Mystery, pg 453)