Did you know Britain had been fascinated by true crime since 1674?

You may think the genre of “true crime” began in 1888 with the Jack The Ripper murders, but the British public’s fascination with grisly murders actually goes back to at least the 17^th century.

Yes, we were obsessed with true crime even then, and you can read online about all the trials which took place at the famous Old Bailey in London between 1674 and 1913.

In today’s Substack I talk to the co-founder of the project to digitise the archives, and retell the case of Edmund Pook, who was accused of a heinous murder in 1871.