On Murder Considered as one of the Fine Arts
Encyclopedia
"On Murder Considered as one of the Fine Arts" is an essay by Thomas De Quincey
first published in 1827 in Blackwood's Magazine
. The essay is a fictional, satirical
account of an address made to a gentleman's club concerning the aesthetic appreciation of murder. It focuses particularly on a series of murders committed in 1811 by John Williams in the neighborhood of Ratcliffe Highway, London
. The essay was enthusiastically received and led to numerous sequels, including "A Second Paper on Murder Considered as one of the Fine Arts" in 1839 and a "Postscript" in 1854. These essays have exerted a strong influence on subsequent literary representations of crime and were lauded by such critics as G. K. Chesterton
, Wyndham Lewis
and George Orwell
.
De Quincey also refers to the Williams murders in his On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth
.
Thomas de Quincey
Thomas Penson de Quincey was an English esssayist, best known for his Confessions of an English Opium-Eater .-Child and student:...
first published in 1827 in Blackwood's Magazine
Blackwood's Magazine
Blackwood's Magazine was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the Edinburgh Monthly Magazine. The first number appeared in April 1817 under the editorship of Thomas Pringle and James Cleghorn...
. The essay is a fictional, satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
account of an address made to a gentleman's club concerning the aesthetic appreciation of murder. It focuses particularly on a series of murders committed in 1811 by John Williams in the neighborhood of Ratcliffe Highway, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The essay was enthusiastically received and led to numerous sequels, including "A Second Paper on Murder Considered as one of the Fine Arts" in 1839 and a "Postscript" in 1854. These essays have exerted a strong influence on subsequent literary representations of crime and were lauded by such critics as G. K. Chesterton
G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG was an English writer. His prolific and diverse output included philosophy, ontology, poetry, plays, journalism, public lectures and debates, literary and art criticism, biography, Christian apologetics, and fiction, including fantasy and detective fiction....
, Wyndham Lewis
Wyndham Lewis
Percy Wyndham Lewis was an English painter and author . He was a co-founder of the Vorticist movement in art, and edited the literary magazine of the Vorticists, BLAST...
and George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
.
De Quincey also refers to the Williams murders in his On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth
On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth
On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth is an essay in Shakespearean criticism by the English author Thomas De Quincey, first published in the October 1823 edition of The London Magazine...
.