The strange affair of Madeleine Smith : Victorian Scotland's trial of the century / Douglas MacGowan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

MacGowan, Douglas, 1963- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Smith, Madeleine, 1835-1928--Trials, litigation, etc.

Smith, Madeleine.

Trials--Poland--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (178 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Polygon, [2021]

Summary:

Discover the true story of Victorian Scotland's trial of the century. It was a case that rocked Victorian society. Emile L'Angelier was a working-class immigrant from the Channel Islands who began a clandestine affair with prominent Glasgow socialite Madeleine Smith. Six weeks after Emile threatened to show Madeleine's father their passionate letters, on 23 March 1857, he was found dead from arsenic poisoning. The evidence against Madeleine seemed overwhelming as she went to trial for murdering her lover. Douglas MacGowan's vivid account reads by turns like a thriller, a love story and a courtroom drama. He quotes extensively from contemporary sources, notably the pathology reports, the trial testimony and the infamous correspondence between Madeleine and Emile, whose explicit content so shocked Victorian sensibilities. Ultimately it is up to the reader to judge Madeleine's guilt or innocence.

Contents:

Intro

Title

Copyright

Contents

Introduction

Chapter I The Night of 23 March, 1857

Chapter II Overture

Chapter III The 1855 Correspondence

Chapter IV The 1856 Correspondence

Chapter V The 1857 Correspondence

Chapter VI The Trial of the Century

Chapter VII Madeleine's Later Years

Chapter VIII Biographers and Theorists

Notes and Acknowledgements

Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780857902726

0857902725

OCLC:

1416190295