Geoffrey Howse delves into the his crime files covering 200 years of the area's darkest past. Events covered include long forgotten cases that made the headlines in their day as well as others more famous: Britain's first railway murder, the first criminal to be caught via wireless telegraphy and the anarchists who left a trail of murder and mayhem following a raid on a Tottenham factory. There are many other cases to appeal to anyone with an interest in the local and social history of North London.

A riveting history of true crimes in the area over the centuries, with photos and illustrations. From Islington to Finsbury Park to Hackney Wick, the North London area has been the setting of countless crimes from the notorious to the obscure. In this book, Geoffrey Howse delves into the files covering hundreds of years of the area’s darkest past. Events covered include long forgotten cases that made the headlines in their day as well as others more famous: the seventeenth-century murder of a magistrate for which three innocent men were hanged Britain’s first railway murder the first criminal to be caught via wireless telegraphy the anarchists who left a trail of murder and mayhem following a raid on a Tottenham factory and many more that will fascinate those with an interest in the local and social history of London

Over the centuries North London has witnessed literally thousands of murders: those included within the pages of this book have shocked, fascinated and enthralled the public and commentators for generations. From Britain's first railway murder, a case that turned on the evidence provided by a distinctive style of hat, to the appalling story of two Islington woman convicted after 'disposing of' babies in their care, these are crimes that both horrified and captivated the public. No volume covering the murders of this part of London would be complete without an examination of the Crippen case; the name of Frederick Henry Seddon, hanged for poisoning Miss Eliza Barrow, is now less well known, although for several decades his waxwork effigy was a popular exhibit at Madame Tussaud's Chamber of Horrors and his story is an extraordinary one. Among other cases included here, North London Murders also re-examines the crimes of serial 'bride-killer' George Joseph Smith, the tragic story of Ruth Ellis and David Blakely, and the killing of Joe Orton by Kenneth Halliwell.

In 1888 London was the capital of the most powerful empire the world had ever known, and the largest city in Europe. In the west a new city was growing, populated by the middle classes, the epitome of 'Victorian values'. Across the city the situation was very different. The East End of London had long been considered a nether world, a dark and dangerous region outside the symbolic 'walls' of the original City. Using the Whitechapel murders of Jack the Ripper as a focal point, this book explores prostitution, poverty, revolutionary politics, immigration, the creation of a criminal underclass and the development of policing. It also considers how the sensationalist 'new journalism' took the news of the Ripper murders to all corners of the Empire and to the United States. This is an important book for those interested in the history of Victorian Britain.

The true story of London's toughest, deadliest street gangs: the events, the rules and the real top boys. Are the streets of London some of the deadliest in the world? What's the truth behind the headlines? And who are the real top boys? Looking beyond the hit TV series, The Real Top Boys reveals the lives of the street gangs who have taken over, and now rule, dozens of corners of the UK's capital. Bestselling true crime author Wensley Clarkson takes us on a tour of the housing estates and volatile neighbourhoods where pride, rivalry and revenge are the codes people live and die by. He talks to the criminals who have helped create this chilling modern-day underworld and recounts the vicious turf wars that changed the map, unravels the rules and rights of the streets, and charts the rise and fall of many of the game's key players over the decades that have transformed the city. Featuring interviews with real-life gangsters and told in a gripping story that lays bare the hard life in this world, The Real Top Boys is the ultimate account of gang life in London and a jaw-dropping look at who really runs the streets.