This was a really well done book about Henry Slater, I really didn't know anything about it and thought this had fantastic information going through this. Dr Nell Darby wrote this in a way that worked with the reader and brought Henry Slater to life.

A fascinating non-fiction book that reads like a novel.
Things are always changing and evolving in response to market forces, in the modern day it is AI that is influencing the job market. In the 19th century, a change to the laws governing divorce created a new need…for private detectives. The new laws meant warring partners could legally separate… so long as they had evidence of infidelity. Cue the rise of the private detective.
One man who spotted a niche in the market and jumped at the opportunity was Henry Slater (…if indeed that was his name, but you need to read the book to find out.) Slater established a private detective agency with a 100% success rate at achieving divorce settlements. He had an eye for marketing and (as his tale unravels) a man who was a stranger to truth.
This book is fascinating on so many levels, indeed, I read it with the panache usually lavished on a page-turning novel, such were the strands of intrigue. This is a story of greed, invention, human frailty, and a court case attended by a young Winston Churchill (because it caught his interest, not because he was involved.) It is a cautionary tale of arrogance, where a belief in ‘fixing things’ comes unstuck and the self-named “Greatest detective in Britian” is the author of his own downfall.

Well written and well researched book about the rise of private detectives in Victorian Britain - in particular, that of Henry Slater, the owner of the most well-known agency. His empire came tumbling down over a divorce case, where some of his team behaved appallingly and faked evidence. But nothing was quite as it seemed, including Henry Slater himself: a man who changed his identity several times on his quest to climb the social ranks, and it was very hard for the courts to pin down exactly who he was and where he'd come from. Henry was very good at covering his tracks, and the author had trouble finding out what really happened to him afterwards.

The book is a fascinating glimpse into the class system and how people could manipulate it. You can see why the nation was gripped by the court case: the salacious details, the way everyone tried to hoodwink everyone else, and who was actually guilty of what.

Fans of true crime will enjoy this one.

As a child, I devoured Sherlock Holmes stories. I loved the idea of a private detective and Britain’s Greatest Private Detective adds real substance to that unknown and lost world. It’s an incredible book, supported by extensive and meticulous research with supporting bibliography. At the end of the book, there are research notes for each chapter, with additional information and these alone make interesting reading. A selection of photos of places and buildings relevant to the text are fascinating. The structure of the narrative with notes at the end means the flow of the main text isn’t interrupted.

This is a real slice of social history, crossing from the Victorian and into the Edwardian era. It’s not only the story of Henry Slater, arguably Britain’s most successful private detective, it’s a story of the courts and judicial system. It reads like an adventure. How had one man built a large and successful business ended up on the other side of the law? Dr Nell Darby gives a unique and detailed insight into not only the world of private investigation, but into attitudes and society at that time. Women had their place and it was very much a male dominated world. Slater was a first class publicist and knew how to capitalise on success to build a reputation. But his fall from Grace is equally exciting and I’ve enjoyed every page of this cracking title. Creates a real sense of time, place and people.

This book is hands-down a great book that I couldn't put down. Dr Nell Darby has created a wonderful masterpiece that I look forward to sharing with my own audience on my blog. I enjoyed the suspense and mystery that was written keeping me on my toes at all times. This book really puts detective work into a new light as he describes the life Henry Slater. If you are a fan of mystery and historical fiction, then this book is for you.

I read straight through this book in one day. Although non- fiction it reads like the best of novels. The tale of Henry Slater (?) was a fascinating one . His life was laid bare due to a divorce case he and his company were working on and the fallout was catastrophic for his business and reputation. Fuelled by gossip and the press it really mirrors todays exposes.

This book does what is sets out to do - gives the reader an entree into the world of the early private detectives, the people drawn to this type of work, the methods used, and the cases they were typically involved in. Anchoring this tome is the character of Henry Slater - the self proclaimed "greatest detective" of his time.

Darby notes that it was with the passing of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857 that gave rise to the private detective as courts required evidence of matrimonial misdeeds in order to grant a divorce. This was primarily the type of work available for the private detective, especially one with no connection to the police department.

It is against this that Darby focuses on the case that brought down Slater and his agency - the Pollard divorce case - and highlighted the underhanded dealings that went on to secure the evidence (ie: honey trap, payment of witnesses). None of this would have come to light had Slater not spurned the friendship of one of his employees - Francis Stevens - ".. a man who would do anything to get revenge ..." - including setting up a rival agency and using others to bring about Slater's downfall.

The proceeding court case against Slater and his employees is followed in detail, always referring back to the original Pollard divorce case and methodology used in gaining the required evidence.

Darby follows through to not only the conclusion of the case against Slater et al, but also what followed afterwards for the main players in this drama. Did they get off or were all incarcerated? What happened to the Pollards?

At times the construction of the narrative was a little annoying as it tended to go back and forward in the timeline, but overall it was quite easy to follow. The research that went into this tome is very evident, a times a little dry but never uninteresting.

Definitely one for those interested in the detective agencies that were the UK equivalent of Pinkertons in the 19th and 20th centuries.

This is a fascinating book, well-written and thoroughly researched. It is about a real private detective, yet at times it reads like a novel. In addition to telling the story of Henry Slater, this book discusses identity in Victorian society including class and gender. Even the parts of the book that feel slower are interesting in painting a portrait of Slater and the society in which he lived. I was totally engrossed, even while I was appalled by some of the actions that were pertinent to the trial. Fans of historical true crime (that doesn't involve murder) and Sherlock Holmes will likely find this book interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for the free eARC! I post this review with my honest opinions.

This review is cross-posted on Goodreads, and will be posted on Amazon and Instagram upon the book's publication.