The Baby Farm Murderer

 

 

The Baby Farm Murderer is a true-crime historical saga written by knowledgeable and enthusiastic Victorian crime author Stephen Jakobi. Released 31st March 2026 by Pen & Sword on their True Crime imprint, it's 208 pages and is available in paperback format. 

This is an involved and somewhat intricate true-crime case concerning the reprehensible Victorian practice of "baby farming", buying babies and placing/selling them for profit. Although hideous enough, the subject of this monograph, Amelia Dyer, was also a prolific serial murderer, dispatching many infants in her care. Despite being a sensational and lurid tale, the author does a very good and (mostly) balanced job of presenting the facts of the case without exploiting the more horrific aspects.  

The text is meticulously annotated and written in accessible and easy to understand language. The chapter notes and bibliography will provide hours of further reading for students of true-crime history. The text is enhanced with appendices which contain historical and modern photos of the environs and some of the sites where the murder and later trials occurred as well as facsimile documents. There are happily no lurid crime scene photographs. Not only was Mrs. Dyer herself involved in the trade of human infants for decades, but she recruited many others into the business, including her relatives. 

Four stars. Well written and absorbing, but terribly sad. Recommended for readers of true crime history. Be warned that sensitive readers will find some of the more unflinching descriptions and realities hard going. It would make an excellent choice for public library acquisition, as well as possibly for a history book club study.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.