This article relies largely or entirely on a
single source. (October 2023) |
"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 allegedly committed in 1811 by John Williams in the neighborhood of Ratcliffe Highway, London. The essay was enthusiastically received [1]: xxv 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. [1]: xxvi
De Quincey also refers to the Williams murders in his " On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth".[ citation needed]
The 1964 French film On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts takes its name from the essay.[ citation needed]
This article relies largely or entirely on a
single source. (October 2023) |
"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 allegedly committed in 1811 by John Williams in the neighborhood of Ratcliffe Highway, London. The essay was enthusiastically received [1]: xxv 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. [1]: xxvi
De Quincey also refers to the Williams murders in his " On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth".[ citation needed]
The 1964 French film On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts takes its name from the essay.[ citation needed]