William Roughead is among the founders and one of the great popularizers of the "true crime" genre as it blossomed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. By those truly familiar with the genre, he is well-known as the father of modern true-crime writing.
Roughead called himself a "historian of homicide." He was a reporter in that he recorded the facts and evidence of a case. But he was much more. As an attorney, he understood procedures, the legal actors in a trial and their appropriate roles and duties, with stress on appropriate in that he was quick to critique judge or prosecutor or defense attorney for failings in procedure or presentation of evidence, or simply ignoring evidence. It is in this respect that Roughead set himself apart with commentary and insight about the facts and with his expertise in the law.
Though undeniably an author for a popular audience, his legal background and the critical instincts of a journalist made him much more than a mere transcriber of cases or reporter of trial proceedings and outcomes. His commentary often was sharp, as he reassessed evidence, procedure, actions, or lack thereof by judges, defense, and prosecution.
Roughead sat in on many of Edinburgh's most notable murder trials from 1889 to 1949. He spared no detail in terms of gore and vile motives, and readers apparently loved him for it.
From 1913 to 1941, Roughead published 119 essays and 14 books, with many of the essays having originally appeared in the Juridical Review, a Scottish legal journal. He republished the articles in a series of anthologies, centered on, of course, murder.
This volume is the first of a series designed to introduce to the modern reader to the writing and overall genius of the Scottish barrister William Roughead. We have selected the four cases included in this book not because they are his best or most interesting but rather to demonstrate that just about anything you read of this author is of high enough quality to draw you into his world of British crime and the British criminal court system.
Stovall, Jim: - "
James Glen Stovall (Jim) is a retired professor of journalism who lives in East Tennessee. During his teaching career, he taught at the University of Alabama (1978-2003), Emory and Henry College (2003-2006) and the University of Tennessee (2006-2016). He is now working on a second career writing young adult fiction and mysteries.
Jim is the author of the a selling writing textbook, Writing for the Mass Media, as well as other journalism texts such as Journalism: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How and Web Journalism.
Other books include:
- Seeing Suffrage: The 1913 Washington Suffrage Parade, Its Pictures, and Its Effects on the American Political Landscape
- Battlelines: Gettysburg: Civil War Sketch Artists and the First Draft of War
In addition to writing, Jim likes to paint (watercolor), draw (pen and ink), play music (dulcimer and banjo), garden and piddle around in his woodworking shop.
Jim grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, and that is his favorite setting for his novels.
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