Hatrack River Writers Workshop: Victorian Age Assassins?

This is topic Victorian Age Assassins? in forum Open Discussions About Writing at Hatrack River Writers Workshop.

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Posted by Foste (Member # 8892) on :

I have this idea for a Fantasy/Steampunk story and I am jotting down ideas and concepts.

Now I tried to do some internet research on assassins in the 18th century but somehow information seems scarce.

I like to invent things myself but some info would be nice... Something to build on.

So, any suggestions or sources? I would highly appreciate it.

Posted by BenM (Member # 8329) on :

I'd:
Look at Wikipedia's list of assassins, and then look up ones that exist in the timeperiod I'm interested in.
Check out the article on assassination noting not only assassination that occurs in the time period I am interested in, but others as well.
And then lastly, make stuff up... it is fiction, after all.

Posted by tchernabyelo (Member # 2651) on :

OK, do you mean Victorian or 18th century, because the two are NOT the same.

It very much depends what you mean by "assassins". I'm not sure it was really a concept that existed in the 18th century in terms of, say, political assassination. In the 19th century and Victorian period, by contrast, it had become a recognised tool. The most obvious example is Lincoln/Wilkes Booth, about which there should be enormous amounts of information available, but IIRC there are a few other examples as well (at least one UK Prime Minister was assassinated during the period)

If you are simply talking about someone who kills for money, you are likely just dealing with an opportunistic criminal approach (i.e. someone who will do such a task, but for whom it is not their main focus). I'm not at all sure this was common; most people who wanted someone killed would do it themselves (poison being a particular weapon of choice in late Victorian times).

[This message has been edited by tchernabyelo (edited February 10, 2010).]

Posted by Kitti (Member # 7277) on :

OED places the origin of the term during the Crusades.

A definition close to ours seems to date to the 13th century: "One who undertakes to put another to death by treacherous violence. The term retains so much of its original application as to be used chiefly of the murderer of a public personage, who is generally hired or devoted to the deed, and aims purely at the death of his victim." OED, s.v. "assassin"

Posted by Robert Nowall (Member # 2764) on :

assassin from the Arabic, one who murders when maddened by hashish.

Posted by posulliv (Member # 8147) on :

You might look up "Phoenix Park murders" and "Irish National Invincibles" as well.

Posted by Foste (Member # 8892) on :

Thanks for all the suggestions!

I was thinking about the stealthy hitman type, so I researched weapons and poisons which were available in that age.

Posted by micmcd (Member # 7977) on :

Wait, are you guys trying to say that you can't just get everything from playing Assassin's Creed 2? I learned just about everything I know about running around rooftops in Florence and Venice, using "courtesans" to distract the corrupt Medici guards, and bursting out of baskets of hay to stick a poison blade in my mark's throat from that game.

If you're wondering, "Why does the blade need to be poisoned if you are sticking it in his throat?" then clearly you just don't understand how we roll in Xbox land.

[This message has been edited by micmcd (edited February 12, 2010).]