Murder, Madness and Mayhem

We have an idealised view of life in Victorian times, seeing it as idyllic and we mistakenly believe that present day society is more violent. This, in fact, is not true but, because of TV coverage we are aware of terrible events in this country and others. When you look back you see that crimes were more violent and "gory", the macabre interest of neighbours who paid to see the victims is incredible. The punishments meted out in courts were similar to that today, namely, more severe for crimes against possessions than for those against people. One crime I followed as far as possible and, with the help of the Black Museum of Manchester, was able to show was that Sarah Manion was on the roles of the prison. What happened to her there and what became of her on release, I could not trace. The "Good old days", they were certainly not.