This was a brilliant book! While there might be plenty to read about the Victorian era and what life was like during that time Alpert takes a unique angle through exploring the time with the famous Manning’s murder case as the backdrop. While the crime doesn’t take centre stage Alport explores the London they lived in, the streets they would have known, the transport that developed and what the lives of everyday people who they lived near would have been like. Using a mixture of primary sources, fiction written at the time and secondary sources the book is brimming with fascinating information and facts. While extremely informative the writing style never becomes dry and academic, instead Alport shows scenes so that the reader easily feels like they too are there witnessing it all. A fantastic book! 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.