Intelligence, Evil, and the Birth of Criminal Psychology: A Review of All That Is Wicked
Intelligence, Evil, and the Birth of Criminal Psychology: A Review of All That Is Wicked In All That Is Wicked , Kate Winkler Dawson examines the life and crimes of Edward Rulloff, a nineteenth-century murderer whose intelligence fascinated the public almost as much as his violence horrified it. Rulloff was a criminal, linguist, self-styled scholar, and master manipulator who became the object of intense scrutiny from journalists, physicians, psychiatrists, neurologists, and phrenologists. Many believed that studying him—and eventually his brain—might reveal the physical or psychological source of evil. Dawson’s book operates at the intersection of true crime, intellectual history, and the early development of criminal psychology. It is not merely a chronological account of Rulloff’s offenses. It is also a study of how Victorian America attempted to understand people who seemed to violate every accepted standard of morality. Through Rulloff’s case, Dawson explores an enduring que...