The Mysterious Mrs Hood: A True Victorian Mystery of Scandal, Arson, Murder & Betrayal

by Kim Donovan

'A gripping story of a cold-blooded murder... This is true crime at its best' Wendy Moore
'Drama so addictive it should be illegal' Sam Christer



A true Victorian murder mystery...

Great Yarmouth, September 1900: A young woman is found dead on the beach, a bootlace tied tightly around her neck. Despite her death attracting national attention in the press, nobody claims her. Detective Inspector Robert Lingwood of the Great Yarmouth police force declares he will not rest until the mystery of the young woman's death is solved. But it's only once the case has been referred to Scotland Yard that the layers of mystery start to peel away...

'Mrs Hood' was in fact Mary Jane Bennett, and this is her story.

Following clues and tracking red herrings leads the police to close in on their one and only suspect. With arson, fraud, an affair and a sensation-hungry press, the murder gripped the nation in one of the most eagerly anticipated trials of the early twentieth century. Author Kim Donovan finally tells her great-great-aunt's story and the truth of evil duplicity in Victorian England.

'As atmospheric and absorbing as any murder mystery... A combination of your favourite whodunnit and your favourite true crime podcast. A real triumph!' Books by Your Bedside blog

*A fascinating historical true crime case perfect for fans of The Suspicions of Mr Whicher and The Five*

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, History, Mystery

242 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 22, 2024

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

A painstaking account of a true crime, in which a dodgy little shit eventually murders his wife. It's interesting with lots of factual underpinning, but--as a non-true-crime reader--I started to be unsure why I needed to know about this particular little shit and his victims. I think that's entirely a me issue.

Does that thing prevalent in non fiction where far too many paragraphs end in ellipses for no reason...

[Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early one September morning in Great Yarmouth, England 1900, the body of a young woman is found on the beach. The bootlace around her neck & bloodstains on her clothing suggest that this is no suicide or accident - she has been murdered. Initially identified as Mrs Hood, from the name given to the landlady where she was staying, the evidence was followed over the subsequent weeks when it was discovered that she was actually Mrs Mary Jane Bennett. A tempestuous relationship with her husband, Herbert Bennett, & a married life on the make had left them at odds, but now Herbert was infatuated with someone else meaning his wife was surplus to requirements. When he is identified as having been in Great Yarmouth on the evening in question, it isn't long before he is arrested & due to stand trial. Is he actually guilty though?

An intriguing & well researched look at a historical true crime case from the turn of the 20th century. The author has a familial link to the victim & takes us through the story from the very beginning of her great-great-aunt's life. I thought it was written in an easy to read style & it keeps the reader's attention throughout. Even the court scenes were riveting. The ending made me wonder if any research has been done on other similar murders in the wider area or even further afield at the time. It's an interesting possibility.

My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Orion Publishing Group/Seven Dials, for the opportunity to read an ARC.

[Thebooktrail · Rating 5 out of 5]

Discover the locations in the novel here



There’s something very unique about Victorian crimes and when they are retold years later. This is a very interesting case and I picked it out immediately.

It looks at the real life case of a woman named Mary Jane Bennett who was found dead on the beach at Great Yarmouth in 1900. The saddest part of the story is that no one claimed her – no one had reported her missing. That broke my heart! Thank goodness for Detective Inspector Robert Lingwood who takes it upon himself to get to the truth. Made me think of Grissom in CSI who used to say the dead couldn’t fight for themselves so he did. I then continued to think of Robert Lingwood looking very Grissom like throughout this book!

Anyway, I digress. The investigation into the woman and how and why she died is fascinating. Baring in mind this is 1900 and we didn’t have the technology we do now. The way the police track clues, research and think is very interesting to see. Never mind the press at the time! By the time we get to the trial, the case has taken on a life of its own. But then when you realise that there is a dead woman who no-one seems to have missed at the centre of all this, you can’t help feeling a sadness in your gut.

Map of locations in The Mysterious Mrs Hood
Then something amazing happened. I hadn’t read the full blurb before digging into this so when I realised the murdered woman is the author’s great great aunt, this took the book to a whole new level. Utter respect for writing this story and for giving your great great aunt a voice.

A fascinating case and one with an additional personal story makes it all the more human and more poignant. Let’s get Mary’s story out there!

[Ark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think my first non-fiction book ever! And it certainly wasn't bad, my liking true crime certainly helped but first off: THIS BOOK IS NOT 240 PAGES NEVER EVER. In my e-book version, every page number had 2-3 pages. It took me legit 8-10 hours to read this. Insanity.

Which brings me to my biggest gripe. It's just too long and there are too many details I really didn't need to know? Like why did I need to know about the abortion that killed the wife of the lawyer of the suspect??? Details like that didn't necessarily add very much to the understanding of the story.

But the book was obviously well-researched. You can tell a lot of work went into it and I applaud that. I do feel like I got a very detailed view of the entire case and the time it happened in.

Will I read more non-fiction in the future after this introduction? Probably. If I find a topic I'm interested in, why not? If you do already enjoy non-fiction true crime I would give this book a shot. Settle in for a long, dense read though.

[Megan Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A true Victorian murder mystery"

An amazing, well-researched and analysed account of the murder of The Mysterious Mrs Hood in late 19th Century Yarmouth, Kim Donovan guides us through the tragic murder of a woman related to her and her investigation into the events superseding up to the aftermath of the crime. Donovan leaves no stone unturned and although related to the victim, tells the events as unbiased as she can with a plethora of evidence and first-hand accounts of the initial investigation.

Told plainly and matter-of-fact, The Mysterious Mrs Hood: A True Victorian Mystery of Scandal, Arson, Murder & Betrayal is a brilliant Victorian true crime mystery that is the perfect read for any True Crime fans.

Thank you, NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Rudrashree Makwana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is brilliant. This is a victorian murder mystery. A young woman is found dead and the investigation takes place. The author takes us deep into the plot and the setting. The characters are interesting while some were innocent. The author has written every little detail. There was also a bit of the history of England’s first Metropolitan Police Service that has been established in 1829 and Trials in the early twentieth century. There were facts, history and mystery. Herbert John Bennett has a mysterious demeanour and he is harbouring secrets from Alice Rudrum. While in Sep, 1900 John Norton witnessed a dead body at Yarmouth’s south beach. And then following the clues leading to the murder, the trials and ordeal took place. This is a must read


Thanks to the Publisher, Author, and Netgalley

[Cleopatra Pullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is an art to transferring historical trials to something that is absorbing for a reader and Kim Donovan who is the great, great niece of the victim provides an immensely readable version whilst tying the story in not only to the social history of the time but allows us to draw parallels with modern issues of male violence against women and the role of the media.

Mary Jane Bennett was murdered on 22 September 1900 on a beach in Great Yarmouth. She had told her landlady she was meeting her 'brother-in-law,' left her baby sleeping and never returned to the boarding house.

The subsequent trial uncovered past mysteries relating to Mary Jane and her husband including an arson attack, an undercover trip to South Africa and a separation. Could the battle of the barristers in court determine what exactly happened that night or would doubts forever remain?

[Anjana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a well-documented book. The author begins the story by talking about her own personal connection to the subject, a half-sister of a grandmother who was murdered.

The author then set out to find out more about the situation and collected details from newspapers and other sources to give a very detailed account of the case. The investigation holds no surprises; it is the surrounding details that are the draw in this book.

In 1900, a young woman was found dead, and she seemed to have provided a false name at the place where she lodged. Figuring out who she was and where her baby daughter was to be handed over was the first stage of the investigation. In parts, the author then provides us with details about the family, the complexities and, as an added bonus, actual details about the lifestyle at that time and place.

I do not seem to be enjoying (if I may use that word) real crime stories as much as fake ones, even if the culprit is caught and punished, maybe because of the real facts and repercussions that follow such acts. I did, however, like this sneak peek into England in the 1900s and how it functioned for average citizens.

I would recommend this book to true old-timey crime fans since it holds a lot of detail and provides the direction in which these details were found. This last part was provided in a simple and straightforward manner, and I was never bored with the facts.

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

[Anne Fox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Given the recent situation with the press and court cases, this is a timely reminder of where it all began. This is a true story about a murder in Great Yarmouth at the end of the 19th century. The newspapers were just beginning to realise the power and influence they potentially had to sensationalise . Photography was also beginning to be used instead of drawings so ‘evidence’ appeared to be more scientific despite its poor quality. The book explains the process of investigating a crime in the days before DNA, fingerprints and proper post-mortems. I was fascinated by the accepted societal norms. The jury is composed of only men and women are told to leave the courtroom when certain details of the assault are examined.
The author is related to the murder victim but presents a well balanced version of events. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for a prepublication ebook in return for an honest review.

[Jo-anne Atkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the turn of the twentieth century a young woman is found dead on the beach at Yarmouth. She is finally identified as 'Mrs Hood' who was staying at a local lodging with her daughter. However all lines of enquiry seem to be going nowhere and the case is referred to Scotland Yard. Finally the woman is identified as Mary Jane Bennett and from then all evidence leads to the murderer as being her husband Herbert. As the Victorian era ends, the trial of Herbert Bennett grips the nation.
This sia really well researched true crime story in which the complex nature of the Bennett's lives is dissected. The records of the trial are used copiously and there is a little twist in the tale right at the very end. However what makes this book so powerful is the fact that this is actually the story of the author's great-great-aunt and the fight for justice has that personal dimension that lifts the tale.

[Kate Vane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vividly told true-crime story about the late-Victorian murder of Mary Jane Bennett on the beach at Great Yarmouth. It combines a rigorous account of the crime, investigation and trial, with the story of the Mary Jane’s life. We follow her from her childhood in London, to her marriage, to the mystery surrounding her stay at a boarding-house in Great Yarmouth alone with her young child, where she gave her name as Mrs Hood.

The book is also a fascinating slice of social history (I particularly enjoyed that as I've been reading fiction from the period, shades of George Gissing in the London characters).

While much has changed, particularly in the science of detection, there is also much, sadly, that will be familiar to fans of contemporary true crime – the violent death of a woman, a salacious press, police failings, a dishonest and manipulative man…
*
Copy from NetGalley

[Faith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this so closely after Hallie Rubenhold's Story of a Murder was a mistake. Another case of a petty criminal choosing to murder his inconvenient wife in order to replace her with another woman, who ultimately betrays himself by the callous manner in which he acts after her death (and what's with these men giving their wife's jewellery to the other woman?). Yet Rubenhold has the skill to bring to life not only the crime, but the lives of the people involved and the society in which they moved. I'm shocked this was written by a relative of the murdered woman as there seems to be so little sympathy for her as a human being.

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an intriguing and brilliantly done true crime story.

If you love historical facts and true crime stories this one will be for you. The author puts you right at the heart of this tale of murder, setting the scene, following the clues and giving a real sense of investigative techniques of the time.

Highly involving and atmospheric I recommend this fir true crime fans everywhere.

[Brian Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The accused was probably guilty but he was condemned by the press before the trial started. Not much has changed. A very good read that keeps you informed of old laws and practices. How the author managed to research all this data is a credit to her. I enjoyed reading the book but not necessarily the content. Doesn't seem right to get pleasure from others misfortune but it was worth reading.

[Keely · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fascinating as I had never heard of this case and well written. The author handles it with care, despite being connected, gives both sides their say and states evidence from both sides.

[John Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A victorian murder mystery that I'd not heard of before. Well researched and written. Recommended.

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting.

[Louise Mullins · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a debut this is impressive. For a true crime memoir this is thoroughly engaging. For a first time depiction of true crime to be so intriguing and well-researched I thought this book was spectacular.

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

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