Visiting Dante’s memorial at the Basilica di Santa Croce was a fitting end to my stay in Florence, especially as I’ve been reading La Divina Commedia (in English!). Bologna next…

My attention was also captured by this painting of Portia, wife of Marcus Brutus by Fra Bartolomeo c. 1495 in the Uffizi Gallery. It is believed that she killed herself by swallowing hot coals (which you can see on the floor) after her husband’s suicide.

Sometimes it’s the less well known paintings that capture your eye in a big gallery. I spotted this beautiful image of Leda and the Swan today at the Uffizi, by Andrea del Sarto c. 1520.

A secret chamber is always intriguing, and this morning I visited ‘La Stanza Segreta’ beneath the Medici Chapels in Florence. It’s believed that Michelangelo spent three months in hiding in the tiny room, which has some astonishing drawings on the walls.

Now in Florence, and I have ‘A Room with a View’!

‘His quest had ended - here where the leaning Tower was silhouetted against the sky and the first spring flowers were showing pale and creamy with their promise of life and joy to come.’ - Hercule Poirot, The Arcadian Deer. Following in the footsteps of the great detective today 🔎

I love this simple, multilingual play on words, spotted on a bar in the labyrinthine streets of Corniglia, Cinque Terre.

A Room with a View is one of my favourite films and I’ve just finished rewatching it ready for my visit to Florence later this week.

Today I’ve been touring the villages of Cinque Terre, and I came across the fabulous Oratory of the Brotherhood Mortis et Orationis in Monterosso, which is decorated with skeletons. It was founded in the 17th century for the burial of the less fortunate, including orphans and shipwreck victims.

Today I discovered that ‘ostriche’, which I saw on an Italian menu, is not ‘ostriches’. I also managed to negotiate with a train manager and several passengers (in Italian and French) after the seat reservations went awry (there was a missing carriage). All sorted and seated in the end! #languages

Today’s quirky object from my travels in Italy is this merman in the Castello d’Albertis in Genoa. There was no info or label but he looks like a merman to me.

This is my favourite Italian advert so far - I’ve successfully ordered quite a few!

Another day, another crypt in Milan. This time it was in the Basílica di Sant’Ambrogio, which houses the remains of St Ambrose, the city’s patron saint. He’s the one in the golden robes.

In Milan Cathedral there’s a rather beautiful but gruesome statue of Saint Bartholomew wearing his flayed skin over his shoulders.

I do like an ossuary and today I visited the bone chapel of San Bernardino delle Ossa in Milan, which is tucked away in the back streets of the city. There was even a special place for the skulls of individuals who had met violent deaths and perpetrators of crime.

Immersing myself in Italian language and culture 😊

I’m off on a rail trip around northern Italy, visiting nine cities and towns. I’ll be following in the footsteps of my 3 x great grandfather, Michele Coppola, who bought these souvenir books a century ago while travelling back in his home country.

I find the history of forensic science fascinating but it's difficult to track key events. So, I've started compiling a timeline of the momentous developments, which I've shared in The Detective's Notebook, including toxicology, fingerprinting and CSI 🔗 drangelabuckley.substack.com/p/ten-key-mo...

I’m really excited to be launching a brand new non-fiction series with each book focusing on a different historical murder. Here are the covers for the first two…

I’ve been looking back at my photos from Semana Santa in Seville last year - it was an amazing experience and I had such a fantastic time.

My latest Agatha Christie purchase.

On my coffee break from writing about real-life historical murder, I have just reread one of my favourite Agatha Christie short stories, The Tuesday Night Club. I love the underestimation of Miss Marple, the quirky details of the case and the innovative murder weapon.

Had a fascinating tour of Tower Hamlets cemetery, organised by London Historians, starting with the grave of Dr Rees Ralph Llewellyn, who was called to the scene of Mary Ann Nichols’ murder in Whitechapel in August 1888. He also carried out her post-mortem examination #JacktheRipper #crimehistory

I'm delighted to announce that my books are now available at the fabulous new #indieauthorbookstore alongside lots of fantastic indie writers 🔗 bookstore.allianceindependentauthors.org/search?term=...

Lots of familiar places and fascinating history on this walking route www.theguardian.com/travel/2026/...

I'm really looking forward to talking about 'Family Felons' online this Thursday at 6.30 pm. Hosted by the Society of Genealogists, I'll be sharing information and advice on how to track the criminal ancestors in your family tree 🔗 portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/2...

I’m finishing a very busy week of work with this rather wonderful news story: www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Victorian detective offices were fascinating places, with processes to investigate crimes, interview suspects and store evidence. In my doctoral research I opened the doors to these institutions for the first time to get a glimpse of what lay behind them: drangelabuckley.substack.com/p/a-day-in-t...

This week’s reading is on the history of Scotland Yard. And I’m using my Scotland Yard pen to take notes…

Detective Superintendent Jerome Caminada, of the Manchester City Police, died on 10 March 1914, aged 69, following a coach accident. He was known as 'a terror to evil-doers' and you can read his own accounts of his extraordinary career fighting crime in Victorian Manchester 🔗 tinyurl.com/5a3ttrkb

When I was delving in an archival box related to the murder of John Fletcher in Manchester in 1889, I came across a pamphlet written by the perpetrator Charlie Parton about his experiences. I've shared the contents in The Detective's Notebook (paid subs) drangelabuckley.substack.com/p/the-revela...

I am honoured and very excited to be speaking at this year's @agathafestival.bsky.social – it is one of my favourite annual events and I can't wait to take part in such a fantastic programme. My talk will be on The Golden Age of Detection, on Friday 18 September 🔗 www.iacf-uk.org/festival-202...

🔎 This week in The Detective's Notebook on Substack, I'm revisiting the famous Manchester Cab Mystery with a more in-depth investigation of this fascinating case, in which a killer was brought to justice in record time by a celebrity detective. 🔗 drangelabuckley.substack.com/p/the-manche...

On 26 February 1889 John Fletcher got into a cab at Manchester Cathedral with a young man. An hour later, he was dead and his companion had disappeared. The Manchester Cab Mystery was Detective Caminada's signature case and earned him the nickname, Manchester's Sherlock Holmes 🔗 tinyurl.com/2sfm7duc

I've been researching a 'new' Victorian criminal today: John Lee. He was convicted of the murder of Emma Keyse in 1885 and sentenced to death. Executioner James Berry failed three times to carry out the penalty due to the trap door getting stuck and his sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.

I had a hilarious morning chatting about Victorian crime with Harry Hill and Sunil Patel, for Harry’s podcast. It was huge fun!

You can’t beat a quiet Sunday evening drink in a cosy historic pub by the Thames in London.

I’ve restarted my Italian studies and I’m aiming to complete beginner level before my next trip to Italy in April. I’m thoroughly enjoying learning my ancestral language.

I’ve just had a walk through the local cemetery. I always like to pass by this memorial at the entrance and think of those whose graves remain unmarked.

On 20 February 1868, Jerome Caminada joined the Manchester City Police. In his 30-year career he became one of the city's finest detectives. But he never forgot his first weeks on the beat and recalled his experiences in both volumes of his memoirs. Find out more 🔗 www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FJB65W2...

Historical crime investigation takes me down some rather unexpected and obscure paths, and this week in The Detective's Notebook (for paid subs), I'm exploring the shady world of public anatomical museums, following a discovery of some unusual evidence 🔗 drangelabuckley.substack.com/p/macabre-ev...

Just to mention that all my books are now available on bookshop.org 🔗 uk.bookshop.org/beta-search?...

🔎This week's post in The Detective's Notebook is about the tragic case of Martha Bilborough, a young barmaid from Manchester, whose desperation led to placing her life in the hands of a fake doctor 🔗https://drangelabuckley.substack.com/p/death-at-the-hands-of-a-fake-doctor

First day at the beach hut. Sunshine is glorious but too cold to stay. Fortunately there’s a very cosy café nearby.

🔎 I'm super thrilled to be speaking at this year's Alibis in the Archive event at the fabulous Gladstone's Library in North Wales in June. I'll be sharing my research on The Science of Sleuthing: The Hidden History of Victorian and Edwardian Detectives 🔗 www.gladstoneslibrary.org/event/alibis...

In 1893, Detective Jerome Caminada tackled a group of anarchists in Manchester. A fight ensued and his umbrella (known as a 'gamp') was broken. An 'Anarchist Poet' later memorialised the incident in a song: 'The Scamp who Broke his Gamp at Ardwick'. Find out more 🔗 tinyurl.com/52v3dmf9

I'm relieved to be over halfway through the first draft of my next book, The Mysterious Poisoning of Charles Bravo, and I'm really enjoying my research into this very puzzling real-life historical murder case.

My next talk is The Science of Sleuthing: The Hidden History of Victorian and Edwardian Detectives, hosted online by the Society of Genealogists on Mon 16 Feb at 7 pm. I'm really looking forward to sharing my doctoral research for the first time. All welcome! 🔗 portal.sog.org.uk/Event/view/1...

I never know where crime history research will lead me, and today I’ve been studying the macabre world of mid-Victorian public anatomy museums, following a reference in a historical homicide case.

I'm ending the week on a positive note with my first rating for my recently published second anthology of Detective Jerome Caminada's memoirs. It's five stars! tinyurl.com/2sfm7duc