"The Tonbridge Outrage" by John Brookland

The true story of rape and murder in early twentieth century England. 

This is the true crime story of the rape and murder of seven-year-old Frances O'Rourke in the Kentish town of Southborough, near Tonbridge on New Year's Eve 1901. It contains details of the investigation by the newly established Kent detective police, who were hampered by the rudimentary state of forensics at the time and built their case from (a lot of) circumstantial evidence. It details the trial of the accused and the aftermath. 

It was mostly well written although in the first few chapters some of the reconstructed dialogue felt stilted. The author was particularly good at giving a sense of the period and explaining the legal procedures which sometimes felt very alien to modern ideas. I appreciated the provision of maps and photographs to help the reader follow what sometimes felt like a deluge of witness testimony.

Selected quotes:

• "Shafts of sunlight shone diagonally across the court as though to try and brighten the sombre proceedings." (Ch 11)
• "It is a common misunderstanding that someone who can commit such an extremely degenerate and horrific crime must be a monster, but paradoxically many commit such crimes so that they can feel normal in the hope it will remove a sense of impotency." (Ch 13)

August 2024

This review was written by the author of Bally and Bro, Motherdarling  and The Kids of God