A TALENT TO DECEIVE – REVIEW

Litercurious Book Review

A Talent To Deceive by William Morris
TitleA Talent to Deceive: The Search for the Real
Killer of the Lindbergh Baby
AuthorWilliam Norris
PublisherCamCat Publishing, LLC (July 7, 2020)
FormatUnabridged Audiobook
Time11 hours and 52 minutes
GenreMurder True Crime
LanguageEnglish
ASIN # B08BQKX1NW

AUTHOR

William Norris

SYNOPSIS

A Talent to Deceive, by William Norris, focuses on the kidnapping of Charles Augustus Lindbergh Junior on the evening of March 1st, 1932. He was the son of the renowned aviator Charles Augustus Lindbergh Senior; the first person to fly across the Atlantic non-stop. Norris’ work is an in-depth and skillful investigation using a diverse range of contemporary sources. He seeks to enlighten us to the facts, opinions, and contemporaneous evidence he discovered through his extensive research. What he discovers has convinced him there was a miscarriage of justice.

If you are familiar with the case then buckle up because your preconceptions are about to be shaken in an avalanche of newly discovered information. Forget about what you thought you knew, try to put aside your biases and open yourself up to Norris’ detailed version of the events. 

On a Spring evening 98 years ago, 20 month old Charles Lindbergh Jr. was kidnapped and murdered. Eventually, the perpetrator was tracked, tried and executed; at least that is what we thought. Norris reopens the case with a comprehensive breakdown of the people and events that led to the disappearance and subsequent death of the Lindbergh baby. He leaves no stone unturned, and his research indicates a miscarriage of justice took place and the wrong man was tried and executed. He delves into the characters surrounding the investigation and how they influenced the outcome; including how Charles Lindbergh Sr. took over the case. Norris makes a compelling case that the “Crime of the Century” still remains unsolved.

CONCLUSION

A Talent to Deceive begins as a non-fiction true crime drama but quickly evolves into a political psycho-drama with twists and turns, strong personalities and secrets. There is much to commend in A Talent To Deceive, not the least of these is the in-depth and detailed research undertaken by the author. His innate skill and deft prose are always engaging and entertaining. Norris manages to encourage the reader to empathize with the events that took place almost one hundred years ago. He quickly draws the reader into the historic case in such away that it affects you emotionally, intellectually, and psychologically. It is easy for the reader to become completely invested in Norris’ version of events. It is only with distance and hindsight that a dispassionate analysis is possible; even then a reader may still feel uneasy as to the events in those days so very long ago. 

If this is the first time you have come across the Lindbergh case, you can expect a real feast of information. Norris writes with conviction and clearly feels strongly about both the crime and the alleged unsafe-conviction. Most of all, he expresses his deep unease with regard to the motivations of the key players; including Charles Lindbergh Sr. and the State actors that conspired with, or for, Charles Lindbergh Sr.

A Talent to Deceive will live in your memory long after you have read it and certainly would stand a second or even a third read. This book is a must have for the avid true crime community and a special addition to the real crime aficionado’s library. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank William Norris, NetGalley, and CamCat Publishing LLC. for affording me the opportunity to review A Talent to Deceive: The Search for the Real Killer of the Lindbergh Baby.

OTHER WORK BY THIS AUTHOR

Willful Misconduct by William Norris
Willful Misconduct by William Norris

THE DARK SIDE OF ALICE IN WONDERLAND – REVIEW

Litercurious Book Review

The Darks Side of Alice in Wonderland by Angela Youngman
TitleThe Dark Side of Alice In Wonderland
AuthorAngela Youngman
PublisherPen & Sword History (April 14, 2021)
FormatKindle & Hardcover
Pages192
GenreHistory, British & Irish Literary Criticism, Popular
Culture / Social Sciences, Author Biographies
LanguageEnglish
ISBN #ISBN-10 : 1526785811
ISBN-13 : 978-1526785817

#British & Irish Literary Criticism #Author Biographies

AUTHOR

Angela Youngman

SYNOPSIS

The Dark Side of Alice in Wonderland is not merely an expose’ of the man behind the myth that is Alice in Wonderland; it is also a deep dive into the depths of depravity arising out of the concepts that Lewis Carroll introduced to the world. Angela Youngman leads us through the looking glass in an examination of the darker aspects of Lewis Carroll’s life. She includes a pantheon of related material arising from the Alice in Wonderland author’s immense global popularity. 

The Dark Side of Alice in Wonderland is presented to the reader as a patchwork of myths, interesting facts and other miscellaneous information collected from a variety of sources. The collation of research material provides the reader with a deep plunge into the somber elements that contribute to the life of this unique author and his factional creation. Youngman reveals how the real-life girl and the fictional character are blurred and codependent to some extent with each influencing the other.

Since the release of Alice in Wonderland, 160 years ago, the concepts shared in Carroll’s works became part of the global public psyche. The narrative has been reconstructed by each culture into its own unique derivation from the original. The etymology seems to be unlimited, and the popularity of Alice in Wonderland is still going strong today. There appears to be no constraints to the original concepts heterogeneity; nor does there seem any limit to the Aesopian utilization of the initial concept in the present. The Dark side of Alice in Wonderland focuses far more on the use, or misuse depending upon your view, of the multifarious versions of the corrupted original. 

The character of Alice has been hijacked and transformed into a revolutionary immersive theatre concept in which audiences act out her identity, or witness performers doing so. The fictional Alice has been psychoanalyzed, linked to hallucinogenic drugs, used to label medical conditions, used in adult coloring books, and a myriad of other alternative conceptualizations. In addition, there are the mysteries that continually surround her creator with suggestions of child abuse, pedophilia and madness – even suggestions of Carroll’s link to Jack the Ripper.

CONCLUSION

The Dark side of Alice in Wonderland is as disturbing and cringeworthy as it is compelling. 

Angela Youngman presents an unclouded account of the omnipresent influence of Carroll’s Wonderland legacy. She manages to make a prescient analysis of her collated data and demonstrates it in such a way as to allow the reader to color their own view. It is here that Youngman demonstrates her superiority in her writing style and presentation. Not all authors encourage readers to come to their own opinion but with Youngman’s writing it appears that this was her purpose from the inception. Youngman never allows distressing elements of the book to occult the more interesting information and the result makes for a compelling read.

The author’s style is engaging and seductive. Although she discusses some vile concepts, she never goes full salacious. Instead, she prefers maintaining an element of decorum whilst describing the pestilent aspects of the life and times of the eponymous Lewis Carroll‘s child focused literature. 

The Dark Side of Alice in Wonderland is sometimes nightmarish, other times profoundly moving. Youngman has produced a must read for all those faithful fanatics of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematics lecturer at Christ Church College, Oxford; also known as Lewis Carroll. 

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Angela YoungmanNetGalley, and Pen & Sword History for affording me the opportunity to review The Dark Side of Alice In Wonderland.