Crime at El Escorial

the long version

In 1892, in a small Spanish village, the three-year old, blond, blue-eyed son of a poor family was abducted, sexually abused and murdered. The sensational coverage of the case in the press quickly mobilized the country's attention and led to a widespread controversy over the jury system. In Crime at El Escorial, D.J. O'Connor presents a comparative social and judicial analysis of the case. Drawing from newspaper archives as well as historical documents, D.J. O'Connor discusses the role of Spain's intellectual elite in crystallizing dissatisfaction with the jury through its criticism of crime reporting and mass readers, the significance of journalists' use of terrorific fiction in their representation of the Escorial crime, and the subsequent controversy over the jury. The first studies of Nineteenth-century crime in Spain to draw attention to the social and legal significance of the murder, Crime at El Escorial will prove compelling reading not only to students and teachers of criminal justice, but also to historians and journalists.