The secret poisoner : a century of murder / Linda Stratmann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stratmann, Linda, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Murderers--History--19th century.

Murderers.

Poisoners--History--19th century.

Poisoners.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (357 p.)

Place of Publication:

New Haven, Connecticut : Yale University Press, [2016]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Murder by poison alarmed, enthralled, and in many ways encapsulated the Victorian age. Linda Stratmann's dark and splendid social history reveals the nineteenth century as a gruesome battleground where poisoners went head-to-head with authorities who strove to detect poisons, control their availability, and bring the guilty to justice. She corrects many misconceptions about particular poisons and documents how the evolution of issues such as marital rights and the legal protection of children impacted poisonings. Combining archival research with a novelist's eye, Stratmann charts the era's inexorable rise of poison cases both shocking and sad.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Illustrations

Author's Note

Introduction: The Awful Sentence of Death

1. The Devilish Dumplings

2. Smothered in Onions

3. The Greatest Refinement of Villainy

4. Arsenic and Old Graves

5. The Suspicions of Mr Marsh

6. French Porcelain

7. This Troublesome World

8. Getting Away with Murder

9. Alarm and Indignation

10. The Essex Factor

11. Tobacco Kills

12. Nil by Mouth

13. The Palmer Act

14. Expert Witnesses

15. Deadly Doctors

16. Matrimonial Causes

17. Sleight of Hand

18. Disappearing Poison

19. Our American Cousins

Epilogue: Dangerous Drugs and Cruel Poisons

Glossary

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780300219548

0300219547

OCLC:

942593832