A Prescription for Murder: The Victorian Serial Killings of Dr. Thomas Neill Cream

by Angus McLaren

Overview

From 1877 to 1892, Dr. Thomas Neill Cream murdered seven women, all prostitutes or patients seeking abortions, in England and North America. A Prescription for Murder begins with Angus McLaren's vividly detailed story of the killings. Using press reports and police dossiers, McLaren investigates the links between crime and respectability to reveal a remarkable range of Victorian sexual tensions and fears. McLaren explores how the roles of murderer and victim were created, and how similar tensions might contribute to the onslaught of serial killing in today's society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780226560687
Publisher:	University of Chicago Press
Publication date:	06/01/1995
Series:	The Chicago Series on Sexuality, History, and Society
Edition description:	1
Pages:	234
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Angus McLaren

is a leading figure in the history of sexuality, professor emeritus of history at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, and the author of several books, including

The Trials of Masculinity: Policing of Sexual Boundaries, 1870-1930

;

A Prescription for Murder

; and

Impotence: A Cultural History

.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Dramatis Personae
Introduction
Pt. 1: The Crimes
1: The Time and Place
2: The Murders
3: The Police
4: The Suspect
5: The Trial
Pt. 2: The Context
6: Prostitution
7: Abortion
8: Blackmail
9: Doctors
10: Detectives
11: Degenerates
12: Women
Conclusion
Afterword
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index