William Roughead
Encyclopedia
William Roughead was a well-known Scottish
lawyer and amateur criminologist
, as well as an editor and essayist on "matters criminous". He was an important early practitioner of the modern "true crime
" literary genre.
of Stockbridge (an experience he described in his essay "My First Murder: Featuring Jessie King", In Queer Street, 1932). For roughly the next six decades, Roughead attended almost every murder trial of any importance at the High Court of Justiciary. These experiences provided the material he would submit for publication in the Juridical Review, a monthly Scottish legal journal; in later years, he would collect his contributions to the Juridical Review as well as much new material into several anthologies of essays.
His first collection was published in 1913 under the title Twelve Scots Trials, containing a dozen "adventures in criminal biography". The collection included among its twelve cases two notable trials, that of Katharine Nairn and John Watson Laurie, which Roughead was to revisit in more detail later in his career. The title of his first collection apparently was a mild disappointment to Roughead, stating in his "Personal Preface" to his third collection, Glengarry's Way and Other Studies, that "...I have always considered that my venture suffered in its baptism...of those three fateful words two at least were unhappily chosen. 'Scots' tended to arouse hereditary prejudice...'Trials' suggested to the lay mind either the bloomless technicalities of law reports or the raw and ribald obscenities of the baser press." He ended his lament upon his title with characteristic humor, "Had they been a 'baker's dozen' the game would have been up indeed."
Following the tangled web of the publication of those essays can present a real challenge to Roughead's readers. His early collections, published by William Hodge of Edinburgh
, follow a more direct path, from appearing in the Juridical Review to being collected in anthologies, often titled with the leading essay. When he began to have a wider audience in the United States, his studies in crime were printed and reprinted in a series of overlapping anthologies, generally titled on variants of the word "murder": Mainly Murder, The Enjoyment of Murder, Murder and More Murder, The Murderer's Companion, The Art of Murder and Nothing But Murder. The American public eagerly embraced Roughead's dry humor as well as his fascination with criminals who looked and sounded exactly like us but who inhabited a parallel dark and rarefied nether word. This was a reading audience who were being introduced to the masters of hard-boiled pulp fiction, authors who, as Raymond Chandler
said, were "...giving murder back to the kind of people that commit it for reasons, not just to provide a corpse." As Alexander Woolcott noted, in an introduction to a Reader's Club edition of Roughead, even U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
had a special shelf just outside of the Oval Office, labelled "The President's Shelf", with the "rarest of brews" being Roosevelt's personal selection of Roughead.
Roughead was also one of many editors of a series of trial accounts called Notable Scottish Trials
, also published by William Hodge and Company. His first contribution to the Scottish trial series was the trial of Dr. Pritchard
, the notorious Edinburgh poisoner. He was later to contribute another nine trial accounts, including some of the more notorious criminal cases of old and new Edinburgh.
In the early twenties, Roughead began a correspondence with American crime writer, Edmund Pearson
, and a professional exchange of letters blossomed into a warm friendship for the next fifteen years. When Pearson published his landmark Studies in Murder in 1924, Roughead's praise for the work was enthusiastic, especially for Pearson's treatment of America's most famous murderess, Lizzie Borden of Fall River. In a letter to Pearson, Roughead said, "...honestly, I never enjoyed a case more than Miss Lizzie's. It is as unique as it is perfect: a flawless work of art...."
: "Roughead's influence was enormous, and since his time "true crime" has become a crowded, flourishing field, though few writers of distinction have been drawn to it…. Roughead, much admired by Henry James
, wrote in a style that combined intelligence, witty skepticism, and a flair for old-fashioned storytelling and moralizing; his accounts of murder cases and trials have the advantage of being concise and pointed, like folk tales."
Perhaps Roughead's greatest achievement was his analysis of Oscar Slater
's trial for the murder of the Glasgow spinster Marion Gilchrist in 1908. Roughead assisted Arthur Conan Doyle
, Craigie Aitchison and William Park for nearly 20 years exposing weaknesses in the Crown's case and indeed he was cited as a witness in the 1928 appeal.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
lawyer and amateur criminologist
Criminology
Criminology is the scientific study of the nature, extent, causes, and control of criminal behavior in both the individual and in society...
, as well as an editor and essayist on "matters criminous". He was an important early practitioner of the modern "true crime
True crime
True crime is a non-fiction literary and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.The crimes most commonly include murder, but true crime works have also touched on other legal cases. Depending on the writer, true crime can adhere strictly to...
" literary genre.
Career
Roughead held the title of Writer to Her Majesty's Signet, roughly equivalent in Scottish law to the position of solicitor. As the years progressed, Roughead practised law less and increasingly plied a trade as an unofficial historian of crime. He marks this transition from the year 1889, when at the age of nineteen, he skipped his apprentice work at the law firm of Maclaren and Traquair to attend the trial of Jessie King, the murderous baby-farmerBaby-farming
Baby farming was a term used in late-Victorian Era Britain to mean the taking in of an infant or child for payment; if the infant was young, this usually included wet-nursing . Some baby farmers "adopted" children for lump-sum payments, while others cared for infants for periodic payments...
of Stockbridge (an experience he described in his essay "My First Murder: Featuring Jessie King", In Queer Street, 1932). For roughly the next six decades, Roughead attended almost every murder trial of any importance at the High Court of Justiciary. These experiences provided the material he would submit for publication in the Juridical Review, a monthly Scottish legal journal; in later years, he would collect his contributions to the Juridical Review as well as much new material into several anthologies of essays.
His first collection was published in 1913 under the title Twelve Scots Trials, containing a dozen "adventures in criminal biography". The collection included among its twelve cases two notable trials, that of Katharine Nairn and John Watson Laurie, which Roughead was to revisit in more detail later in his career. The title of his first collection apparently was a mild disappointment to Roughead, stating in his "Personal Preface" to his third collection, Glengarry's Way and Other Studies, that "...I have always considered that my venture suffered in its baptism...of those three fateful words two at least were unhappily chosen. 'Scots' tended to arouse hereditary prejudice...'Trials' suggested to the lay mind either the bloomless technicalities of law reports or the raw and ribald obscenities of the baser press." He ended his lament upon his title with characteristic humor, "Had they been a 'baker's dozen' the game would have been up indeed."
Following the tangled web of the publication of those essays can present a real challenge to Roughead's readers. His early collections, published by William Hodge of Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, follow a more direct path, from appearing in the Juridical Review to being collected in anthologies, often titled with the leading essay. When he began to have a wider audience in the United States, his studies in crime were printed and reprinted in a series of overlapping anthologies, generally titled on variants of the word "murder": Mainly Murder, The Enjoyment of Murder, Murder and More Murder, The Murderer's Companion, The Art of Murder and Nothing But Murder. The American public eagerly embraced Roughead's dry humor as well as his fascination with criminals who looked and sounded exactly like us but who inhabited a parallel dark and rarefied nether word. This was a reading audience who were being introduced to the masters of hard-boiled pulp fiction, authors who, as Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
said, were "...giving murder back to the kind of people that commit it for reasons, not just to provide a corpse." As Alexander Woolcott noted, in an introduction to a Reader's Club edition of Roughead, even U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
had a special shelf just outside of the Oval Office, labelled "The President's Shelf", with the "rarest of brews" being Roosevelt's personal selection of Roughead.
Roughead was also one of many editors of a series of trial accounts called Notable Scottish Trials
Notable Scottish Trials
Notable Scottish Trials was a series of books originally published by William Hodge and Company of Edinburgh, Scotland. Each volume dealt with a single case, beginning with a scholarly introduction to provide an overview of the case, followed by a verbatim account of the trial, concluding with...
, also published by William Hodge and Company. His first contribution to the Scottish trial series was the trial of Dr. Pritchard
Edward William Pritchard
Dr Edward William Pritchard was an English doctor who was convicted of murdering his wife and mother-in-law by poisoning. He was also suspected of a third murder, of a servant, but was never tried for it. He was the last person to be publicly executed in Glasgow.-Early years:Pritchard was born in...
, the notorious Edinburgh poisoner. He was later to contribute another nine trial accounts, including some of the more notorious criminal cases of old and new Edinburgh.
In the early twenties, Roughead began a correspondence with American crime writer, Edmund Pearson
Edmund Pearson
Edmund Lester Pearson was an American librarian and author. He was a writer of the "true crime" literary genre. He is best-known for his account of the notorious Lizzie Borden murder case.-Biography:...
, and a professional exchange of letters blossomed into a warm friendship for the next fifteen years. When Pearson published his landmark Studies in Murder in 1924, Roughead's praise for the work was enthusiastic, especially for Pearson's treatment of America's most famous murderess, Lizzie Borden of Fall River. In a letter to Pearson, Roughead said, "...honestly, I never enjoyed a case more than Miss Lizzie's. It is as unique as it is perfect: a flawless work of art...."
Assessment
According to Joyce Carol OatesJoyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...
: "Roughead's influence was enormous, and since his time "true crime" has become a crowded, flourishing field, though few writers of distinction have been drawn to it…. Roughead, much admired by Henry James
Henry James
Henry James, OM was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr., a clergyman, and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James....
, wrote in a style that combined intelligence, witty skepticism, and a flair for old-fashioned storytelling and moralizing; his accounts of murder cases and trials have the advantage of being concise and pointed, like folk tales."
Perhaps Roughead's greatest achievement was his analysis of Oscar Slater
Oscar Slater
Oscar Joseph Slater was a victim of British miscarriage of justice. He was born Oscar Leschziner in Oppeln, Upper Silesia, Germany to a Jewish family. Around 1893, to evade military service, he moved to London where he worked as a bookmaker using various names, including Anderson, before settling...
's trial for the murder of the Glasgow spinster Marion Gilchrist in 1908. Roughead assisted Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
, Craigie Aitchison and William Park for nearly 20 years exposing weaknesses in the Crown's case and indeed he was cited as a witness in the 1928 appeal.
Books
- Rhyme without Reason (1901)
- Trial of Dr. Pritchard (1906)
- Trial of Captain Porteous (1909)
- Bibliography of the Porteous Mob (1909)
- Trial of Oscar Slater (1910 & 2nd ed. rev. 1925)
- Trial of Mrs. M'Lachlan (1911)
- Twelve Scots Trials (1913)
- Trial of Deacon Brodie (1914)
- Trial of Mary Blandy (1914)
- Burke and Hare (1921)
- Glengarry's Way and Other Studies (1922)
- The Fatal Countess and Other Studies (1924)
- A Rich Man and Other Stories (1925)
- Trial of Jessie M'Lachlan (2d ed. rev. 1925 & 3d ed. 1950)
- The Rebel Earl and Other Studies (1926)
- The Trial of Katharine Nairn (1926)
- Malice Domestic (1928)
- The Evil that Men Do (1929)
- Trial of John Donald Merrett (1929)
- Bad Companions (1930)
- What Is Your Verdict? (1931)
- In Queer Street (1932)
- The Trial of John Watson Laurie (the Arran Murder) (1932)
- Rogues Walk Here (1934)
- Famous Crimes (1935)
- Knave's Looking Glass (1935)
- The Riddle of the Ruthvens and Other Studies (1936)
- Mainly Murder (1937)
- The Enjoyment of Murder (1938)
- The Seamy Side (1938)
- Murder and More Murder (1939)
- Neck or Nothing (1939)
- The Murderer's Companion (1941)
- Reprobates Revisited (1941)
- The Art of Murder (1943)
- Nothing But Murder (1946)
- Classic Crimes: A Selection from the Works of William Roughead (1951)
- Tales of the Criminous: A Selection from the Works of William Roughead (1956)