Just a fun little collection of odd, bizarre, amusing and just plain messed up things that happened around the world during the good ol' Victorian days. This just convinced me that the Victorian age was a wild ride from start to finish and I, for one, would not have lived long.

Why was I interested in this book?
One of my favorite things about the digital age is scanned historical newspapers. Sure, they're primary sources, but of course with a twist. The press is never neutral and what's reported is only a subset of what's really going on. In the cracks are stories like "The Burglar Caught By a Skeleton."

What Worked
Jeremy Clay does a great job gathering up a selection of the skrewiest Victorian news stories. Think that dumb bets are the invention of the Tide Pod generation? Not so! An "election enthusiast" in 1892 probably died after losing a bet and swallowing a live turtle. And I can only imagine that Aymard traveling from Thoissey to Lyon along the Saone on an ice flow, making pancakes along the way, would be a YouTube sensation. Details may change but many things don't. Still, I'm not sure I've read anything lately that left me so often speechless.

The articles are sorted into categories, each with a brief preface by Clay to get you in the mood.

What Didn't Work
The only thing to note: this is a dip-in book. Sit down intending to read it straight through and you'll come away in a muddle. Better to read a couple articles a day and leisurely enjoy them. Most are quite short. In fact, and this is no fault of our editor, many of the newspaper writers ended their stories abruptly, leaving me to exclaim, "...but I have questions!"

Overall
The stories in The Burglar Caught by a Skeleton are sensational, often funny and often gruesome. Occasionally both. I consider it a fun, light read and entertaining glimpse into the Victorian era.

I have to admit, I requested this book based on the title - you don't really hear about weird Victorian news these days (or I suppose any day since most people don't read the Victorian newspapers).

The Burglar Caught by a Skeleton is basically a collection of weird Victorian news stories that may be exaggerated or made up (or perhaps reality really is that strange). The topics covered range from animals (lots of wild animals in Britain, apparently), to health and medicine, and even wagers. Some of the weirder stories include monkeys committing suicide a large, headless turkey ghost. The latter half of the book is quite sad, though, since it covers tragic incidents rather than the ludicrous. The last section is a brief follow up on some of the stories.

While the stories are definitely strange and unbelievable, they aren't told in a very interesting way. It seems like the newspapers like to report things rather drily, so this isn't really a book that I wanted to binge. It was, however, pleasant to read it over several sittings, to take in the strangeness that managed to pass as news back then.

By the way, the titular burglar caught by a skeleton is really what it says. A burglar was in the house of a doctor, got his hand caught by a skeleton while fumbling in the dark, and then promptly fainted and was found by the doctor whose house he was in.

Looks like skeletons may be better than guard dogs.

Overall, this was an interesting collection of stories that will appeal to people who like weird and obscure history.

Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.

This was a very interesting book. I'm sure our patrons will love reading through these amazing stories.

A great mixed of newspaper reports, ranging from the completely bizarre, to the weird and utterly gory. The stories include tales of wild beasts, dead children, to women taken in sin. It is a perfect little book for dipping in and out of and great for conversation starters.

19th Century stories of everyday people. Loved these glimpses into another time! I received a copy from NetGalley and this is my honest review.

This book kick starts off to a fun start! I can imagine a teenaged Queen Victoria actually writing the entry in her diary! Lol! It just gets funnier (and sometimes more shocking!) from there! If one likes odd stories found in the newspaper, this one from vintage British newspapers will be right up there alley! Drunk monkey wrecking pub, mummified cats (180,000 of them...) married brother and sister, just lots of weird, odd stories! Doesn't need to be read all at once, but I had a hard time putting it down as one story, leads to another!