Kate Summerscale

In 1895, 13 year-old Robert Coombes stood trial for the murder of his mother, who lay dead in bed while he went on a 10-day spending spree with her housekeeping money. Kate Summerscale, author of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, returns to the murder scene in her new book, The Wicked Boy. She discusses the case’s background and contemporary issues of education, childhood criminality and the dangers of pulp fiction with Guardian Books editor Claire Armitstead.