Decline of the English Murder
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Decline of the English Murder is an essay by George Orwell on the types of murders featured in the popular newspapers. He mentions Dr. Palmer of Rugely, Jack the Ripper,Neill Cream, Mrs. Maybrick,Dr. Crippen, Seddon, Joseph Smith, Armstrong, Bywaters and Thompson as well as an unnamed case from 1919 where the accused was acquitted.
Orwell writes that the eight murder cases apart from Jack the Ripper ("in a class by itself") were six poisonings with eight of ten criminals being middle class, sex and respectability being a motives.
Orwell then compares modern murders which are only distinguished by brutality, not emotion or class, suggesting they will not be remembered as long as the ones he names.
