Did She Kill Him?
A Torrid True Story of Adultery, Arsenic, and Murder in Victorian England
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“An intriguing story told in the style of Thomas Hardy or George Eliot, if they traded in true crime” (Kirkus Reviews).
In the summer of 1889, young Southern belle Florence Maybrick stood trial for the alleged arsenic poisoning of her much older husband, Liverpool cotton merchant James Maybrick. The “Maybrick Mystery” had all the makings of a sensation: a pretty, flirtatious woman; resentful, gossiping servants; rumors of gambling and debt; and scandalous mutual infidelity. The case cracked the varnish of Victorian respectability, shocking and exciting the public in equal measure as they clamored to read the latest revelations of Florence’s past and glimpse her likeness in Madame Tussaud’s.
Florence’s fate was fiercely debated in the courtroom, on the front pages of the newspapers, and in parlors and backyards across the country. Did she poison her husband? Was her previous infidelity proof of murderous intentions? Was James’s own habit of self-medicating to blame for his demise? In this book, historian and CWA Gold Dagger Award nominee Kate Colquhoun recounts an utterly absorbing tale of addiction, deception, and adultery that keeps you asking to the very last page: Did she kill him?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Colquhoun (Murder in the First-Class Carriage) has once again written a phenomenal and nuanced historical true crime account, this time focusing on the notorious 1889 death of Liverpool cotton merchant James Maybrick and the subsequent trial of his American wife, Florence, for his murder. Maybrick had been in poor health for several weeks at the time of his death; Florence, who was carrying on an affair, stood to lose out if a change to her husband's will went into effect. She became the natural suspect when evidence emerged that he might have died of poisoning. Colquhoun is evenhanded in her presentation of the arguments for and against Florence's guilt, and places the mystery in context, demonstrating how many deemed her responsible just because of her marital infidelity. The author's evocative prose is the icing on the cake: "Under the surface of thrusting progress, beneath the skin of propriety and manners, vicious poverty, a violent gang culture, and physical suffering persisted." The result is an enthralling page-turner that will attract fans of true crime and Victorian England.
