Murder Most Criminous

Murder Most Criminous: The Cases of William Roughead, Father of Modern True Crime Literature

Jim Stovall, Ed Caudill, William Roughead

William Roughead is among the founders and one of the great popularizers of the "true crime" genre as it blossomed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By those truly familiar with the genre, he is well-known as the father of modern true-crime writing.

Roughead called himself a "historian of homicide." He was a reporter in that he recorded the facts and evidence of a case. But he was much more. As an attorney, he understood procedures, the legal actors in a trial and their appropriate roles and duties, with stress on appropriate in that he was quick to critique judge or prosecutor or defense attorney for failings in procedure or presentation of evidence, or simply ignoring evidence. It is in this respect that Roughead set himself apart with commentary and insight about the facts and with his expertise in the law.

Though undeniably an author for a popular audience, his legal background and the critical instincts of a journalist made him much more than a mere transcriber of cases or reporter of trial proceedings and outcomes. His commentary often was sharp, as he reassessed evidence, procedure, actions, or lack thereof by judges, defense, and prosecution.

Roughead sat in on many of Edinburgh's most notable murder trials from `1889 to 1949. He spared no detail in terms of gore and vile motives, and readers apparently loved him for it.

From 1913 to 1941, Roughead published 119 essays and 14 books, with many of the essays having originally appeared in the Juridical Review, a Scottish legal journal. He republished the articles in a series of anthologies, centered on, of course, murder.

This volume is the first of a series designed to introduce to the modern reader to the writing and overall genius of the Scottish barrister William Roughead. We have selected the four cases included in this book not because they are his best or most interesting but rather to demonstrate that just about anything you read of this author is of high enough quality to draw you into his world of British crime and the British criminal court system.