Victorian Murderesses: A True History of Thirteen Respectable French and English Women Accused of Unspeakable Crimes

by Mary S. Hartman

This riveting combination of true crime and social history examines a dozen cases from the 1800s involving thirteen French and English women charged with murder. Each incident was a cause célèbre, and this mixture of scandal and scholarship offers illuminating details of backgrounds, deeds, and trials.
"The real delight is that historian Mary S. Hartman does more than reconstruct twelve famous trials. She has written a piece on the social history of nineteenth-century women from an illuminating perspective: their favorite murders." — Time Magazine
"Noteworthy …. It has several distinctions: its expert prose style, its scholarly authority, and its perceptive analysis of the prevailing attitudes toward women's roles and domestic relations."—Criticism
"The author would have made a fine detective …. When she observes the women and men in extreme circumstances, she writes with the gift of a novelist and the depth of a scholar." — Los Angeles Times
"Vividly written, meticulously researched." — Choice
"Loved this book and so glad to see it's been returned to print! You can't beat the highly readable scholarly treatment of these 13 Victorian murderesses. Harman does a spectacular job of bringing these women and the carnage they created into the 20th and 21st centuries as well as giving the reader an excellent feminist critique of their reception in scholarly and popular culture. Pour yourself a cup of tea and enjoy the variety of their crimes and their drive to define themselves outside the constrictions of Victorian life." — Under the Covers and Reading

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History, Crime, Victorian, Historical, 19th Century

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Cleopatra Pullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something quite fascinating about women who murder, and judging by the amount of contemporary reporting of the details about the cases featured in this book, nothing much has changed over time. In this book the author has selected an Englishwoman and a Frenchwoman for each chapter based upon the circumstances, rather than the method of their crimes. All the women featured are from the middle-classes and a certain amount of conjecture is used to paint a picture of this class of women from the details of their cases the reasoning of the author being that these women’s lives weren’t documented or studied in the way of the lower classes and so using these cause celebres can give us a glimpse behind the drawing room curtains of their lives. I’m not completely convinced by this argument but for some of the broader details it works, for instance the chapters that touch upon contraceptive gives us an idea of how widespread or acceptable this was in Victorian England for the middle-classes.

The beauty of this book is threefold; the details of the crimes committed the resulting investigation and if appropriate trial, the popular opinion at the time of the guilt or innocence of those accused using contemporary media and lastly the particular social issues that may have led these women to act outside the law and kill another person. Each case presented was interesting and appeared to be well-researched, although one of the downsides of reading this kind of book on the kindle is that following the notes as you go along is very time-consuming so I tended to wait until I’d finished a chapter to catch-up on these. The fact that there were two women per chapter means that the reader does need to concentrate once the initial setting of the scene has happened, as the author switches between the two subjects to compare and contrast the difference between the two societies in a number of different spheres, including popular opinion and expectations.

The author states in the preface:


These accused daughters, wives and mothers have little to teach any would-be twentieth-century practitioner about the art of murder; nearly all of them bungled badly in the ac, and those who got away with it relied upon methods that required special circumstances and relations between the sexes which no longer obtain.

And that is precisely what makes this study so interesting, women can no longer act coy in the witness box, but they could, and were expected to, in Victorian England and so many of the more salacious details are hinted at rather than baldly stated both at the trial and the resultant reporting.

The cases cover the years 1840-1890’s and the subjects covered are:
Marie Lafarge and Euphemie Lacoste which covers the use of arsenic in matriomony
Madeline Smith and Angelina Lemoine who were both between school and marriage when they were accused of killing their lovers
Celestine Doudet and Constance Kent who were both spinsters when they murdered
Florence Bravo and Henriette Francey the so called new women who were defying the old order of society
Gabrielle Fenayrou and Adelaide Bartlett both wives of shopkeepers who were reported to have committed adultery
Florence Maybrick and Claire Reymond who were allegedly victims of the double standards held at the time.

I found this book both interesting and informative although the language at time is quite dry, this is a study rather than a book for entertainment but one that I will be seeking a physical copy of on my bookshelf to supplement my Victorian crime selection.

This book was originally published back in 1976 but has been re-released in 2014 for a new generation of readers by Dover Publications who were kind enough to give me a copy of this book in return for my honest review.

[OutlawPoet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scholarly, But Fascinating


When I chose to read this book, I thought I was getting something lightweight - a scandalous, fluffy, and sensationalist book about murderesses. I had my popcorn ready.

But as I started to read, I realized that this is a serious and scholarly study of a woman's place in Victorian society, how it lead to various murders, and how society's view of women impacted the outcome of various murder investigations. And I still munched my popcorn.

This is an intelligently written and fascinating historical perspective that completely opened my eyes to life as a Victorian woman. The book really isn't about the murders per se, so if you are expecting gruesome details and salacious photos, move on. Instead, you get an in depth and very personal look into the lives of thirteen woman, as well as a perspective, based on their experiences, of life in general at that time.

Yes, there is sex (in some cases a lot of it), poison, and intrigue, but it's bracketed by a serious look at how woman were treated then - and now.

I would have wished for more photos of the woman in question (if they exist) and, yes I admit it, a little more gruesome detail, but this was a fascinating read!

[Tintaglia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gli aspiranti lettori siano avvisati: sotto la maschera del true crime vittoriano questo saggio è un'approfondita analisi del ruolo della donna nella Francia e nell'Inghilterra del 1800, delle aspettative e pressioni sociali che la riguardavano, dell'immagine a cui doveva rispondere nelle varie fasi della sua esistenza.
E di come questa immagine e queste aspettative insieme generassero delitti e influenzassero sentenze.
Accurato e interessante.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book's layout a bit confusing. Two women per chapter. Their cases were compared. Except the chapters were really long and the print was minuscule and it was easy to twist the two up. The cases themselves were interesting. Only one had I read about in its own book.

[Ylva · Rating 4 out of 5]

When in a slump non-fiction is the way to go.

This book was truly fascinating, and after I got into the first chapter I could not put it down. I have spent way to much time staring at my phone screen now.

Hartman delves into the cases of 13 women who were all accused of, for the most part, murder. I don't think this book will automatically appeal to the avid true crime reader. In several chapters the cases against the women are summed up in only a page or two. What Hartman focuses on is the social framework around these women and the social dynamics that lead to their actions and/or the accusations levelled against them.

Some of these women were manipulative murderers who got away with it, and some where completely innocent but got caught up in accusations they had no way of getting out of. More than one case really made my blood boil, and I truly pity even some of the women who clearly did commit murder. If I was married off to a man twice my age I barely knew, to suffer marital rape and abuse all day while being forbidden from going outside or having any sort of social circle I too might have started eyeballing the rat poison.

I am only docking a star because I feel like Hartman occasionally makes these mental leaps of logic that she doesn't really demonstrate that she has solid evidence for. Suddenly a statement would make me go "huh?", but it was not too often and overall her argumentation read solid for me.

[Janice Schulz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Victorian Murderesses epitomizes everything I look for in a true crime study. Mary Hartman tells the stories of 12 women in England and France accused of murder in the mid- to late-nineteenth century, including their motivations, the crimes they committed, and their court trials. (Curiously the book's subtitle claims 13 women, but I only count 12.) Far from making it a mere sensationalized tale, Hartman delves into the societal influences that she believes had a bearing on the way their lives developed and the decisions that they made. Additionally, she looks at how the public reacted to the crimes and the women who committed them, especially the way other women treated the subject of female murderers based on class, family, values, and norms .  Broken up into six parts, the book examines two women at a time, using some comparative element that ties their crime, their domestic situation, or their influences. Victorian Murderesses is well researched and expertly written. Unlike some true crime authors, Hartman does not attempt to fictionalize the narrative of her subjects, but skillfully uses letters and trial transcripts to bring them to life without making the book read like a simple regurgitation of facts. She also breaks down each crime after describing it and attempts to determine what actually happened based on the evidence, despite the recorded outcome.  I highly recommend this book for true crime enthusiasts and anyone interested in Victorian history.

[Jennifer deBie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating exploration of crimes, murders primarily, committed by "respectable" women of the 19th century. Hartman's accounts do get a little repetitive in that, generally, most of these women murdered because that was their only recourse in a time when women still held very little power in society, but on a whole these deep dives into the circumstances, cultures, and countries where these crimes took place is very, very interesting.

Hartman is an engaging storyteller, and while she does make the odd psychological leap that we just don't have documented evidence for, for the most part her logic reads as sound and her conclusions as likely. Solidly recommend for those of us who love our "murderer of the week" true crime podcasts, and for anyone curious about a woman's place, and her struggles against it, in the mid- and late- 1800s.

[Tracy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe because I had to read it on a tablet (which I don't particularly like), I struggled with this one. I think I would have preferred all the information about each story to be in one section or chapter instead of going back and forth.

[Muaz Jalil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wrong thing to say about a book with this title but what an absolute delight it was to read. It is certainly a scholarly work.

ITV, BBC, or Britbox can easily turn this into a true crime drama. The 13 individuals with their individual stories can easily be turned into a 40-45 mins 13 part mini-series

Constance Kent is the only individual who was covered by the Suspicion of Mr Whicher series.

The book is old and I got its name from Phyllis Rose's penetrating book Parallel Lives about Victorian marriages.

Marie Lafarge, Adelaide Bartlett and Claire Raymond were the most complicated characters in my opinion.

The attack on middle-class women was also due to nostalgia for the good old days. As women were gaining opportunities and society was changing, there was a reaction against the progress, much like in the present day (lgbtq community), unfortunately.

Surprisingly, the law was so unequal in the West, while it was ok for men to have mistresses, and be adulterous, a simple uncompromising letter from a wife might be sufficient to convince the jury that she was having an affair and was guilty of murder. In most of these cases, the prosecution followed the same route, women engaged in infidelity ergo murdered while completely disregarding that their husbands also had liaison outside marriage in some cases upward of 10 years!!

But these women were neither victims nor proto-feminists. They tried to survive, and many did, by leveraging their traditional image and at the same time trying to exit an unhappy marriage.

[Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much arsenic.

[Katherine Addison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good and interesting book, but it's definitely far more Women's Studies than it is True Crime. Hartman pairs 6 sets of French and English women who were tried for murder in the 19th century, and analyzes their crimes in terms of women's rights and expectations around marriage. (I say "around" rather than "in" because 2 of the women, Constance Kent and Celestine Doudet, were unmarried.) She's interested, as she says, in using these causes celebres to illuminate the lives of ordinary bourgeois women, rather than having any particular interest in the crimes themselves.

So her interpretations and analyses of the women's crimes are about as you'd expect, heavy on the abstract and light on the forensic follow-through. I mean, it's not her fault that Kate Summerscale came along and wrote The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, but it's still true that that book makes Hartman's analysis of the murder of Francis Savile Kent look particularly shoddy. Given my own interests, I found the book a little disappointing, but it did introduce me to a number of French murderesses whom I had not known about.

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was really interesting, but a bit dry and academic. I'd love to take a class that had this on the syllabus, but as a pleasure-read it was a little dull.

[Dev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this and found it to be very informative. I think the author did a good job of examining the murders in a historical and social context where she explored women's limited means at the time which seemed to drive several of them to become murderers in the pursuit of having more control over their lives without going as far as to excuse their actions, which I've definitely seen in other books before.

Also definitely a lot heavier than I was expecting with regards to women's lack of rights at the time so just be aware of that going in. A lot of discussion of martial rape throughout and in the chapter that talks about masturbation [I think it's chapter 3] there are a few mentions of genital mutilation as well, although the book is written in such a way that it switches back and forth between two women with every chapter so I can't really say to just skip that particular murder since you would have to skip the whole chapter really.

[Donna Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note the change.

My review below, a three star review, stands as written.

However, my teenager, a high school senior, grabbed this book the instant I set it down, and proclaims it to be "...even better than I thought!" She is using it to acquire extra credit in world history class, and speaks about the various murderesses as if they were family members. This one, she thinks was vindicated; that one, she has NO sympathy for.

So from our household, the average is now four stars; three from me, and five from Emiko.

"True crime" is a big house with a whole lot of rooms. Some true crime books are deliciously prurient; others are as dusty as the top of a ten foot tall bookcase. In this case, the title ("unspeakable") and the jacket artist lead the reader to believe we are really going to get down and dish the dirt, and what is more...it's all true!

Instead, what we have here is a very well-written, well-documented, extremely scholarly if surprisingly dry bit of research, maybe the author's advanced degree work. The collision between the teaser and the product are somewhat jarring. This was a First Read sent me free through the Goodreads program and the publisher. I would have abandoned it more readily had I not felt a duty to get through it.

What would have fit the bill without ruining the author's hard work is a good piece of juicy narrative nonfiction. Put in the documentation, but pick up the pace! As is, the book is sometimes a feminist treatise that all but blames Victorian society's social contract for slut-shaming as an understandable excuse for murder in the case of unsuitable, unmarriable mates of the lower classes (sorry, no sympathy here), or a self-defensive maneuver against constant verbal abuse, without the loss of a high standard of living that came with the ornery groom. A baby born out of wedlock gets snuffed when an abortion can't be obtained.

At other times, the pace quickens a bit, as if the author is about to get excited and take us along with her, but then her dispassionate researcher's mind grabs hold of her--stop it right now, you're getting worked up!--and we go back to the librarian's hushed monotone.

The font, while suitably Victorian, is really tiny and hard on the eyes.

It may be that I am being unfair to Hartman; she has done a good deal of work here, and the fault may lie with Dover or whoever is publishing and promoting her work. All I know is that I expected this to be a fun read, and it wasn't. I kept pushing it away in favor of other reading, as if postponing the book might make me like it better once I returned to it.

A strong, scholarly effort that should have been marketed as such. Not a Halloween read.

[A.L. Butcher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This is not a bad book, but it's not particularly good either - at least structurwise

The cases included in this text are:
- Marie Lafarge and Euphemie Lacoste;
- Madeleine Smith and Angelina  Lemoine;
- Celestine Doudet and Constance Kent;
- Florence Bravo and Henriette Francy;
- Gabrielle Fenayrou and Adelaide Bartlett;
- Florence Maybrick and Claire Reymond.

Good points: 

The French cases were largely unknown to me and that aspect was interesting. The comparisons between French and English middle-class society and the position of women were fairly well discussed. 
There was a mix of cases, although all were 'respectable' women from the time. What was expected of middle-class women, and her own expectations - marriage, children and running the household - were discussed at length.  Many had arranged marriages - often to men much older, or totally unsuitable. Divorce was not a viable option, especially as the father would have maintained control of any children, and the money. Thus most of this women were stuck in relationships, not of their choosing (with the exception of Madeleine Smith - who was in a relationship with a man below her station and disapproved of by her family). 
Although the cases were discussed fairly sympathetically there was a lot of the authors own views on whether the particular murderess was guilty of the crime she committed. Not all were, and those who were found guilty may not have been. At least one was judged on her moral crimes (adultery) as much as the actual murder.
The author had done her research and it showed. The social comparisons were good and I think the most interesting aspect was the emerging position of women in both France and England during the 19th century.  There was good focus on the societal aspects of what may have caused these women to take, or consider taking, the ultimate solution to their woes.
Bad points:

The book jumped around a lot. All the time. It became hard to follow and sometimes wasn't clear which case was being discussed. References to other cases made things more confusing.
The accounts were long and meandered. They became stories in their own right. Why is this bad? For a book that is meant to be a non-fic there was too much of the 'newspaper' style telling. Give me the facts - if I want a fiction on the subject I'll read historical fic about the cases. 
There were quite a few formatting issues. 
I just couldn't really get into the long, often dry accounts of the crimes. It's a shame because the sociological side of the book was interesting for the most part. If the book had been more structured then the rating would have been higher.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fascinating read that covers not just the crimes of the 13 titular women but also the societies that they were part of and expectations they were partly driven by, partly saved by, and partly condemned by. The chapters are on the long side as each one covers two key cases delving into the events leading up to, during, and after the murder before breaking them down through the lens of societal expectations at the time. These aspects had a surprisingly huge bearing not just on the women themselves and how it led to them doing (or not doing) what they did, but also how the crimes were reported and viewed by the media, how lawyers prosecuted/defended the cases, and how the judges and juries decided them. The pairing of two cases each chapter gives the opportunity for comparisons between English and French societies both in terms of differences and similarities as the role of women changed during the years covered. This pairing does mean there is quite a bit of back and forth between each case, which did get a little confusing at times but on the whole this was manageable and was useful in understanding the different issues and approaches taken, not to mention being an excellent means of showing the hypocrisy and double standards that applied at the time (and still kinda do, lets be honest).

[Granny · Rating 5 out of 5]

My copy has the cool cover from 1978 https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.c... (sorry it's a little raggedy).

This book is far better than average, devoting a considerable amount of time to drawing a picture of the time and the culture within which these women lived. Then the author delves into the character of the women, analyzing each individually, based on their letters and testimony of those around them, and other first sources.

Each chapter takes two women in similar circumstances, comparing and contrasting them, and eventually giving her best insight as to whether or not each one is guilty.

This is a fascinating book, well worth reading.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subject matter is quite interesting, but it's addressed in a much more scholarly, academic way than I was expecting. Each chapter contrasts two similar murderesses, switching back and forth between their stories, which makes it hard to keep the individual stories straight. The introduction and conclusion completely summarize the cases studied, much the way a collegiate thesis or dissertation would, and refer to the text as "this study". All in all, it's an intriguing book, but definitely not a quick or easy read.

Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley.

[H.L. Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think my great mistake with this book was having read other books that had a more extensive history of each woman and the crime(s) she was accused of committing. There seemed to be more conjecture than detail in this book and I like the facts more than speculation, especially when each segment is so abbreviated. All in all, it is a good starting place for the novice who is curious about Victorian crimes committed by women. I would not recommend however stopping here.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. This book should have been really interesting, but I had a lot of trouble getting into it. I didn't find the author's writing style to be very compelling, which I think was a large part of the problem for me. Also, I thought that including 2 women in each chapter and going back and forth between them got confusing at times - I would have preferred a single chapter for each subject.

Received from NetGalley.

[gremlinkitten]

While I appreciate the extensive research that went into this book, the thorough (and I do mean thorough!) examinations of how these women might have grown up and the expectations of what their lot in life should be, plus other circumstances makes it a real drag to read. If this was for some womens' class, it'd be a good study, but for me, it's going back to the library.

[Susanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. Social & historical analysis plus probable reconstructions of the crimes.
Scholarly and entertaining.
And in at least one of these cases--that I've read about before and the woman is always portrayed as innocent-- thanks to this meticulous research & reconstruction, I'm now convinced she was totally guilty.

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit like a thesis on the subject, very detailed and pretty "dry" in some places, but fairly interesting in others.

[Tekken · Rating 3 out of 5]

Iseenesest huvitav teema, aga autori valitud lähenemine ja see lakkamatu hüplemine ühelt tegelaselt teisele rikkus lugemismõnu ära. Viimased sadakond lehekülge kulgesid eriti aeglaselt.

[Vultural · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hartman, Mary S. - Victorian Murderesses

Bestseller from 1976. Wordy prose, typical of the times, narrating thirteen stories of poison, pistols, razor blades. Mostly French or English females, and one American living in England.

Author did a thorough job showing the profound limitations women had during that period (as if laws and attitudes are so much fairer today).

Biggest issue, all property - including financial property - which becomes the husband's property upon marriage. That, and women wanting a greater say in rights, freedom, and romance.

Some stories were more arresting or flamboyant than others, but the female who caught my imagination was Madeleine Smith, especially the sweep of time she lived through.

When she was born in 1835 in Scotland, William IV sat on the throne, Darwin sailed the Beagle, Dickens had just begun issuing the Pickwick Papers, Tchaikovsky was not yet born.

When she died, in 1928 in Brooklyn, World War I was almost ten years past, the Roaring Twenties were about to smash into the Depression, the Nazi Party was consolidating.

From a pastoral, pre-Victorian world to a thoroughly Modern Era eddying toward World War II.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This isn't really a review per se but I needed to say it somewhere.

Spoilers below (as much as you can have spoilers for a 50 year old book about murders that are 2oo years old in some cases)

Hartman argues that Adelaide Bartlett got her husband to drink liquid chloroform by HYPNOTIZING HIM.

I read a lot of true crime and conspiracy stuff, and I've heard some wackadoo theories, but I'm still struggling to digest that idea. It sounds more like the plot of a mystery novel than the possible solution for an actual murder case.

I mean, given the fact that its mostly accepted that you can't "hypnotize" someone to do something they wouldn't consciously do (murder someone, perhaps, or have sex in front of everybody), and the fact that liquid chloroform is corrosive, it seems outlandish at best.

Other than that, decent book investigating how the murders catalogued illustrated the changing social issues of their time.

[Sarah Alderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this tender and funny rom-com! The story follows Bette’s journey into queer dating and self-discovery, blending heartfelt moments with laugh-out-loud scenes without ever feeling cliché.
BeTooler

What stood out most for me was how real and relatable Bette felt — her hopes, insecurities, and moments of joy all rang true, and the chemistry between her and the supporting characters was beautifully done. The author’s voice is confident and engaging throughout, making it hard to put the book down.
Bookish Insights

I gave it five stars because this is the kind of story that stays with you — it’s both fun and meaningful. If you enjoy character-driven romance with depth, this book is a treat. Highly recommended for readers of contemporary queer romance!

You can also reach out Authorsarahalderson...

[Jean Walton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only thing about this book that surprised me was the fact that there weren't more of such cases bearing in mind the way women, marriage and sex were viewed at the time. Women rarely got to choose their own husbands. This was usually done by their parents more with a view to money and status than with a view to happiness. Most were married off to much older husbands and were expected to produce healthy children. In those days venereal disease was rife, along with its corresponding mental illness and everyone was on the make including servants who knew a lot about what went on and also knew knowledge was power. Also things like arsenic and chloroform were easily obtained. It really is amazing that even more murders were not committed.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I said before, I did not liking the style of pairing two murderers into the same chapter. Too confusing.
However, this reprint was notable for the fact that it was often very sympathetic to the women involved. The author frequently took into account the reality of the era in which young women often had no say in whom they married, where the parents made the best arrangement they could given the financial situation. Divorce was legally possibly in England, not so much in France. But again, it was a drawn out matter, and often the woman would be left indigent without any financial settlement from the husband.
Not just a lurid recitation of sensational murders that were splashed on the local newspapers of the day.... several notches above that!!

[Jennifer Holloway Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt that this book provided a good overview of several murderesses from this time period, however it was not really balanced. I felt that Lizzie Borden was very condensed and kind of felt rushed. The last one seemed to really drag on. I think it would be more effective to provide more of a who, what, when, and where interface so it does not feel so choppy. Thanks for the ARC, NetGalley.