The Moat Farm Mystery: The Life and Criminal Career of Samuel Herbert Dougal Paperback – Import, 1 September 2012

Oldridge displays total command over his subject. He's combed through the previous literature, the newspaper accounts, the archives, and successfully reconstructs not just a crime but a world. His writing is sensitive and perceptive. Yes, there's Dougal and the shadowy Sarah. The creepy Moat Farm. But it's the sharp writing that's the real star. Old Mrs. Booty in love. Lydia Faithful saved by the strength of the penny stamp.It's the little things that will stick with me. Where Oldridge cuts deepest is the connection for me is when he draws a connection between Miss Holland's layers of clothing on her decomposed body and what it means for a naivete that she had found refuge in for decades. Or Jack her little dog, and his peculiar attachment not just to Moat Farm, but the people who lived there. Even the bad ones--Jack escaped with his naivete intact and Oldridge returns to him again and again. Jack, always waiting and happy to see you.This perhaps, is the real Mystery of Moat Farm: how vulnerable are the lonely, why they should make themselves so. How reluctant they were in this book to shed the supposed fairy tale, the ideal, until it was too late, and how it will always be so for many. Jack waits still!

Undoubtedly, 'The Moat Farm Mystery' is the definitive study of the case. M.W.Oldridge writes with elegance and integrity and the character of the complex scoundrel, Samuel Herbert Dougal, is vividly portrayed; it takes great skill to engage the reader in the life of such an unpleasantly cruel and incorrigible protagonist. Though the book is a work of impressive scholarship, it also reads as a thriller, gripping the reader's attention from beginning to end. This book must surely join the ranks of the very best true crime studies featuring one of the most fascinating murder cases of the late Victorian and Edwardian period in our criminal history.

This book is a real treat...If I could offer it 4.9 stars I really would. The only reason I don't award five is that it lacks an index, which to me, is a cardinal sin in a work of this nature...That said, I reiterate, this book is a real treat. The author has clearly thoroughly researched every aspect of Samuel Dougal's life, and relates well the tale of a fraudulent late victorian philanderer...the progression in his crimes, from the petty through to the most serious, is fascinating, and I frankly found it difficult to put the book down...The only question I'm left with at the end, is how did Dougal get away with it for so long? Every other question I might've had has been comprehensively answered.I really would recommend this book to anyone who appreciates a good factual read.

The book gives an interesting, in-depth look at a murder case which was once as well-known as those of Jack the Ripper and Dr Crippen. It has faded from view to become a rather quaint Victorian relic, with a maiden lady of a certain age being lured from propriety by an engaging fraudster who kills her for her money. The book succeeds in making those involved in the case real people rather than characters in a melodrama. Dougal was a callous user of vulnerable women who may have already killed two wives. Camille Holland - his victim at Moat Farm - was a very frightened lady, trapped at an isolated location, who could not escape her situation. Dougal's true wife was happy to live on the proceeds of his crimes, and may have abetted them.Where the book fails is in the lack of an index (already noted in these reviews) which is vital in a book ranging across 60 years and with a large cast of supporting characters. The author's style is also a problem as Oldridge/Ripper seems addicted to using obscure (or should that be 'recondite'?) language when plain prose would do. (Chthonic, anyone? It means domestic or homegrown). This comes across as very condescending to the reader and only my interest in the case itself kept me going to the end.

I would really recommend this book to people who are interested in social history. It reads like a well-written novel but it happens to be true. The author has done a lot of detailed research and it's one of the best of the genre I've had the pleasure of reading.