There Must Be Evil: The Life and Murderous Career of Elizabeth Berry

by Bernard Taylor, Gordon Griffin (narrator), W.F. Howes Ltd. (publisher)

In 1887, Elizabeth Berry found notoriety throughout the nation after the death of her daughter, perceived by many to be the cruellest of murders. There were many who protested her innocence in the affair, but there were also suspicions surrounding another death related to the nurse - that of her mother.

Suddenly Elizabeth Berry's dark story began appearing darker still. For the first time, we discover the true story behind this infamous case of the first woman to be hanged at Liverpool's Walton Prison.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Crime, History, Audiobook, British Literature, Biography

Audible Audio

Published June 2, 2016

About the author

Bernard Taylor was born in Swindon, Wiltshire, and now lives in London. Following active service in Egypt in the Royal Air Force, he studied Fine Arts in Swindon, then at Chelsea School of Art and Birmingham University. On graduation he worked as a teacher, painter and book illustrator before going as a teacher to the United States. While there, he took up acting and writing and continued with both after his return to England. He has published ten novels under his own name, including The Godsend (1976), which was adapted for a major film, and Sweetheart, Sweetheart (1977), which Charles L. Grant has hailed as one of the finest ghost stories ever written. He has also written novels under the pseudonym Jess Foley, as well as several works of nonfiction. He has won awards for his true crime writing and also for his work as a playwright. It was during his year as resident playwright at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch that he wrote The Godsend. There Must Be Evil, his latest true crime study, is to be published in England in September.

Reviews

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

The true story of Elizabeth Berry who murdered her mother and young daughter in Victorian England.
She possibly also murdered her husband and two other children but their deaths where recorded as by natural causes.
Truly gripping story that had me listening till the end.
I listened to the audiobook version of this story and the narration was absolutely brilliant.
Highly recommended.

[Bridget · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is well paced and well researched but it’s lacking in something. Although it sounds like she was definitely guilty, the book doesn’t look at any alternative options.

[Caroline · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book sets out what happened from reports of the trial but is quite repetitive. The author has clearly decided about the woman's guilt for all sorts of murders for which she was not convicted and makes quite a lot of unsubstantiated claims as if they were facts. He doesn't challenge the verdict at all or question whether some of the rumours etc might be malicious or people just wanting to be a part of an infamous story.

[M · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. It’s hard to believe this book was only written in 2016, it sounds like the opinions and attitudes of an old man writing in 1950. Hard to take any conclusions seriously when the commentary is so judgemental of such things as the suspect’s husband “forced to work long hours” (entirely speculative) due to her (perceived) “ambitions”.

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book easy to read, but found the author biased against the subject, there was very little discussion of any other possible perpetrators, just a straight forward indictment of the subject.

[Jan Funnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. To follow the life of this young woman as she tries to climb out of poverty in an era when people didn't dare rise above their station. I think I could have had sympathy with her situation had she not chosen to remove the obstacles (in her opinion) from her path in the way she did.

The author has done a good job in writing the book and in the additional research he has undertaken in an effort to add more depth to the woman herself.

[Jayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It was full to the brim of lovely social history. The research by Bernard Taylor was very impressive and his writing style is flowing and easy to read.

[Heather C Gibbs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listen to on Audible 🎧 3 stars ⭐️
Interesting but I’d say the writer is biased towards Elizabeth Berry. Elements of the narrative, especially the trial, seem very repetitive.

[T. K. Elliott (Tiffany) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is quite a short book, and a relatively light (given the subject matter), easy read.

Elizabeth Berry was hanged at the age of 31, for the murder of her eleven-year-old daughter. An inquest also found her guilty of murdering her mother - it's possible that she also murdered her husband and both of her other children, all by poison.

This books is written in a rather sensational style, and includes details (e.g. weather, what people were thinking) that I doubt was available in the historical record. However, it does make the read go faster - more like a thriller than non-fiction.

I don't know how good the author's research was, but if his quotes and other facts are even mostly correct, then this is actually a pretty good book for someone who either a) wants to know more about Elizabeth Berry or b) wants an easy-reading introduction to Victorian murder cases.

In some ways, what's just as interesting as the main 'story' about Berry herself (and putting together what might be a modern psychiatric diagnosis), is the surrounding detail about the social setting which provided the circumstances for the crime: the custom of insuring children's lives (to pay the funeral expenses); the relative ease of - at that time - getting away with murder-by-poison due to lack of forensic scientific knowledge; the lack of a social security system meaning that even without an insurance payout, getting rid of a child would at least remove a financial burden.

There isn't any real depth here - but if you're looking for an interesting, fast-moving read that doesn't require much in the way of intellectual effort, it's a good read.

[Jo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've listened to as much of this as I can! Talk about innocent before guilty...the author has not heard of that - definitely went for the guilty verdict. Before any evidence was presented the way the author judged Elizabeth was so infuriating. No allowance was made for her state of mind in the workhouse. I was getting more irritated with each minute. Enough was enough. Perhaps I shall find more factual information on the Internet as this seemed an interesting read.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 1800's life was hard different to what we know today however murder is still the same no matter what century however poison was the order of the day. Elizabeth Berry was a cold hearted killer money driven who got rid of anyone got in her way of her goal including her children. A chilling read.

[Kaisu Koskelin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cold woman indeed.

[Victoria Hutchcroft · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

A good account of a little known female murderer, her crimes and execution.
An interesting, enjoyable, thought-provoking book to read.