Hunted Down
A gripping tale of mystery and suspense, involving murder, forgery, and insurance fraud, from the pen of one of the greatest of all 19th-century English novelists, Charles Dickens (1812-1870). A retired insurance agent relates an episode from his career, a "romance of the real world", in which a cunning criminal is exposed and "hunted down" to face justice.
Hunted Down**appeared in Dickens's own periodical All the Year Round, in two installments, in August 1860. The story was apparently inspired by the real-life case of Thomas Griffiths Wainewright, artist, author, and alleged serial killer; Dickens had visited Wainewright in Newgate prison in 1837. It also finds echoes in the story of Dr. William Palmer, "The Rugely Poisoner", another mid-Victorian sensation. The oily and obsequious Julius Slinkton is a memorable addition to Dickens' roster of literary villains.
