What might you try to smuggle in Victorian London

I've got a seedy bookshop owner who is making way too much money for the amount of books he actually sells. The secret of his success is smuggling an illegal thing of some sort in hollowed out books to select customers in the middle of Victorian London.

At first I thought it might be weapons but guns were easy to get in the 19th century.

Then I thought about how people needed to sign a poisons book to buy things like arsenic and it might be profitable to sell it illegally to people who didn't want their names on record.

Any ideas about what might be a believable exercise in criminal smuggling?

 

Honestly sounds to me like poisons would be a great idea, if it's true about having to sign a book for (I assume) government records.

Otherwise, it was common practice in Victorian England to smuggle perfectly legal goods for the sake of avoiding taxes and that sort of thing.

If you don't want to go the literal smuggling route, you can always include "rare oddities" if he's a fence, or maybe he's a master at forging a variety of documents.

 

I don't know much about this topic, but if someone is buying arsenic illegally because they don't want their name on the record, they're surely not using it for anything other than poisoning people or something of that nature...and I don't think there would be that many murderers, especially those who wanted to kill by poison. I'm not convinced he'd make many sales unless he had a particular client who wanted it for some sort of ongoing illegal experiment or another.

My first thought, in terms of ideas, was drugs, because that's a trade many different people will engage in and there's always a market for them. No idea what was illegal in that era, though.

 

A lot of drugs were legal in that era that probably shouldn't have been. Opium, cocaine, etc.

 

But opium especially was controlled by the government and sold at great profit. Like anything that's wildly overpriced and addictive, there's always an underground market (think current digital piracy).

ETA: In Victorian times there was a huge market for illegal human body parts to colleges and medical students; think Burke and Hare. Doubtful you could fit a whole body in a book, but maybe some parts.

 

I like body parts, although (correct me if I'm wrong) by the Victorian era anatomy was starting to become more acceptable. But even so it sounds suitably interesting to me and kinda marks out that this guy is seriously weird not just in it for the money. After all, actually selling body parts to any random guy who shows up is probably frowned upon regardless of the era. If that's the kind of character the OP is writing then yeah, I second body parts.

If the guy is just in it for the money then I'd say maybe booze or tobacco because that's more obviously something you can make money from. Perhaps he is a smuggler and dealer in rare vintages and smokeables from Britain's enemies? I don't really like drugs or poison; drugs were legal and while dodging the tax on them might be attractive to some who exactly is he selling to? Gentlemen could afford to go through official channels, poor people are going to be buying small amount a lot and that's not really ideal for a book shop. Poison was legal too and again, who is he selling to?

However I also like the idea that he's smuggling information. This is the era of the great game and the scramble for Africa, a lot of espionage was going on. And a rare book dealer would seem just the kind of guy who would find it easy to hid secret documents in his wares when say he travels to Bohemia to meet a Russian dealer. That to me sounds good. He only would need to sell a very few things to make ends meet, and the book shop is a good cover, and he can be a genuine freelancer in that era, just a man who buys for thousands and sells for millions and never gives up a source.

 

The character could also sell them to college students and those in the medical profession, or for research purposes.

This reminds me of Lovecraft's "Herbert West -- Reanimator" story. One of my favorites by him.

I digress. Espionage, or trading secrets and information as you mentioned, would certainly be very interesting!

 

Personally I buy it more that he sells body parts for 'eldritch horror' purposes rather than 'medical'. Most of the early anatomists didn't pay a lot for corpses, they paid something but not a fortune. A dead body wasn't some amazing prize. It was something that a rough bloke showed up with in the middle of the night and you gave him a guinea no questions asked; on the level of buying a poached partridge in terms of money. If he's selling very specific body parts to very discerning customers with refined sensibilities; that's something that you can make a healthy living doing. Doesn't even have to be magic, just some rich weirdos who think it's magic, or who eat them or whatever. Body parts to order is a way more profitable trade than "bring out yer dead".

Anyway, yes I like espionage or something similar. That has the right feel for a quiet, empty book shop. What would be more natural for a well educated gentleman to stop by and browse the classics for a half hour before he meets someone for lunch? And a rare book dealer would buy and sell, and if he dealt in rare manuscripts or some value, well of course he'd have a safe and maybe even a guard because of course he needs to protect his investments. And of course such a man would be able to do book binding and repair well foxed books, or perhaps even to, for example, rebind a nations secrets into the cover of anecdotes of the great accountants and carry it with him to meet an acquaintance. Suffice to say... Yes, I like it. It would mean that you don't really need to change any details about the shop or the books or anything. There's just these kind of double meanings that you can hint at. And, perhaps most importantly, the story can use that however you need. If he needs to get into trouble with the police then that would be reasonable. If he has an unhappy customer, well, yes that works too. How about the hero finds out what is going on and suddenly sees that the shop owner is a really dangerous man? All good. Anyone you want might be angry at the dealer, or indeed be friends with him, people in the criminal world, people in high society, radical politicians, anyone that you need to be there can show up or not as the case may be.

 

Depends on the direction you want this book to go--I could see a female spin on it where he is smuggling in birth control or medicines to induce abortions, or something of that sort. If not, I like the idea of the body parts for medical students, etc.

 

Condoms existed for at least a hundred years before this time and were sold at both chemists and barbers shops. As for abortion inducing medications; I give some shrift to the idea that midwives knew herbal remedies that could cause a miscarriage in various places and at various times, the fact that religions and legal people felt the need to discuss the issue implies that it was happening, but an organised trade in it? I don't think so. I think it's the knowledge of such things that's valuable, and the implications around it were always that if you knew how you could make it yourself. If you go to this guy and he hands you a bunch of plants that you know the names of and where to get them then tomorrow you're going to put him out of business. Also it doesn't quite pass the economic smell test. Again, who is he selling to? Poor women can't pay much and are definitely the ones who needed such things more desperately. Rich women can pay a lot but how many of them are going to come to you specifically? And of course, if he is doing this then why is he not just running a normal pharmacy and slipping the 'special treatment' under the counter? I mean, yes abortion was illegal at this time (although they were thinking of surgical abortion) but this sounds more like a chemist with a sideline than someone who has to run a front organisation for his black market business.

Edit to add -

Oh and if you were a woman requiring such a medication; wouldn't you be more likely to go to a wise old woman with knowledge of the subject rather than the shifty guy who runs a fake bookshop and could well be selling you any old crap, knowing you can never complain?

 

I like the information smuggling idea.

Full confession: I'm writing a Sherlock Homes story that I want to use to impress this local group called The Baker Street Breakfast Club. Hence the Victorian setting.

I was hesitant about poisons and such because that seems to be the go to for any Sherlockian villain. I was thinking of espionage or some kind of weapon smuggling for and the former seems more believable as LostThePlot has demonstrated.

I only know about the book from watching Dark Angel. Joanne Froggart's character has to buy arsenic to kill bedbugs and later she uses it to kill a number of lovers and such. At one point she tries buying it again but she argues with the shopkeeper over having to sign at all.

 

Certainly possible but I think you'd need to be writing a book specifically about this guy to go with this approach. A villain who is marrying people, forging wills for their elderly parents, poisoning them and collecting the money sounds pretty good to me, suitable fodder for a Holmsian villain. But if not just a random free lance forger doesn't quite work I think. I mean, in a sense you can make money but no forger in the world is the guy who spends the money he makes. It needs a deeper scheme to convert this into a real living (a better living than running a bookshop anyway). Sure, you can definitely make some money by forging documents but are people just coming to do it? Surely not. More likely that he's forging them to further his own plots and schemes.

 

Do you need to hollow out the books? Because my first thought was, "Porn." Fits nicely with a book shop, seeing as it's books.

 

Plus, it has to be someone who would be worth the time and attention of The Great Detective. Scotland Yard is more than capable of catching the run of the mill forger.

Thank you for the ideas. It's given me quite a bit to think about. Keep em coming.

 

Porn existed but I don't think it quite has the clout. Yes, it was illegal (depending on time and place) and so to some extent had a black market but it doesn't quite strike me as being something that someone you'd be making big bucks from. Certainly you wouldn't be selling it to nervous schoolboys in this era. Again; if he's selling to a wide audience then that means he's selling to poor people who are a bit busy starving and drinking gin. I'm not saying they wouldn't, I'm just saying that your imagination does the job well enough and if you can afford prints you can afford a shilling whore. For rich people, ok maybe, but are you selling a thousand pounds of porn to a rich guy?

 

You are very welcome

 

In regards to the forgery, maybe it could be somebody who is forging documents that implicate Holmes to embarrass him or maybe even indict him? Of course, they'd need a motive, but at least that would give Holmes a reason to chase the case.

 

For some reason hollowed out books seemed to be at the front of my mind. As to porn, it was around in Victorian times. Erotic novels and nude paintings were among the many things keeping the corn flake industry in business.

 

Problem with forging documents is that it's always a matter of trust in the signatures. Imagine that I show up on your doorstep and show your wife (just play along) a marriage certificate for you and me dated before your marriage; what do you think she'd say? Is she going to take my word for it as a random person off the street, even if it appears you signed the document? It appears legit but you can't put a whole lot of trust in that? What kind of document could someone produce to implicate a great detective (who has had many run ins with great criminals) in something that wouldn't immediately scream forgery? And what would it be anyway? Some dodgy dealing where he used knowledge of a case to profit from something? Why? Holmes never takes payment anyway, he's not greedy or venal. He's a reclusive jerk, what could he have signed that would be both plausible and embarrassing?

 

All important things for @NateSean to consider if he were to explore that route. I'm not familiar enough with the character and that "universe" to answer that.

As an aside, I think the Netflix show is very good. I should also get around to reading the stories; I have the complete Sherlock Holmes fiction sitting on my shelf, unfortunately gathering dust.

 

I think information would be the easiest to smuggle, and that nods to Sherlock quite nicely. He solved crimes with information more often than brute force or blind guesswork. There were also many stories in which a key piece of information had been stolen or otherwise obtained, and doing so created the case.

Compromising photos, documents from criminal undertakings, government treaties and plans, technological blueprints, treasure maps, compromising letters, codes, intel from enemy nations, and more could all be neatly hidden in books, and a place that sells and possibly repairs books would be set up for it. Given that the upper crust of Victorian society cared a great deal about reputation and appearances, they would go to great lengths to keep certain things from getting out.

You could also smuggle hit lists, which is maybe a way a criminal mastermind like Moriarty would direct hitters. The hitter goes into a bookshop to pick up an order, but he's not certain what name it's under. After some code phrases to verify the guy is a hitman and not a confused customer, the clerk gives the hitter a book. Inside is a name or names, along with whatever payment they've agreed upon. Or, the hitter brings the book back to "sell it to the store" after the hit, and receives his payment in what appears to be a legitimate sale.

"Ah, Mr. Smith. Here's the money for that recent lot you brought us, plus this one. Quite a lot of good books there, eh? See you soon."

 

You definitely should! Great stories. Even some of the later books (Sebastian Falks et al) are quite good too. Personally I prefer the 90's TV versions with Jeremy Brett in the lead, he was definitely the closest to a real Holmes as you could find.

 

Pretty sure they still bootleg cigarettes through the Chunnel, but it's not like I live there.