A study of nine peculiar murder trials. The theme of this book is the action of justice under difficulty. The author presents nine cases of murder (or presumed murder) whose common feature is that the machinery of the law either broke down or failed to function with credit. All cases except one fall within the period 1850 to 1875, that is, the mid Victorian age, when England was the most prosperous and stable country in the world. No dust jacket; brown boards worn at edges and with bumping to corners; page edges lightly tanned; binding beginning to loosen but holding firm; minor foxing on first few pages. Has some markings to inside back cover that suggests it is an ex-library book.