Showing @ The Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh until Sat 16 Aug @ 12:20
Taking the subject of her most recent book and TV show, Lucy Worsley delves into murder as entertainment. It’s a treat from start to finish; like being back at university with all your favourite lecturers rolled into one.
Dr Worsley paints a compelling picture of the British obsession with murder, and her arguments are laid out with excellent detail. We go through the selling of secular scene-of the-crime relics, the first real-life country house murder, and into the ‘Golden age’, where the actual violence of the act recedes to the edge of the story. Worsley clearly has a strong love for the writers of this time, celebrating Dorothy L. Sayers in particular.
There’s no shying away from genuine horrors though, as she displays the tanned skin of William Corder, the villainous protagonist in the Red Barn Murder. After execution, his skin was turned into leather, with a portion being used as a book jacket. The rest remains on public display at Bury St Edmunds and Dr Worsley is honest in her description of how handling this relic made her feel; a mixture of disgust, guilt and excitement.
Worsely is a fairly rare thing – an academic who is just as happy to show her human face. During the question and answer session, she evens retracts on a slightly knee-jerk reaction to video games, admitting that she’s not well-versed enough to express an informed opinion. It’s likely she’ll be lighting up TV screens for some time.