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Poisoned at the Priory
The most confounding crime yet for the Cold Case Jury: Poisoned at the Priory.
1876. When the newlywed barrister Charles Bravo ingests a rare poison, all evidence suggests suicide. But in one of the most infamous inquests of all time, a coroner finds it to be an unlawful death. So, we must ask, what is the truth?
The fourth book in Antony M. Brown's popular Cold Case Jury series picks apart this notorious case that gripped Victorian Britain, and continues to spark debate to this day. Why did Bravo refuse any help, even when going through agonising pain? Was his wife, with her scandalous past, to blame? Or perhaps it was her former lover, eager to remove his usurper for good... or another sinister hand, moving silently?
In Poisoned at the Priory, Brown compiles the evidence and creates dramatic reconstructions of four main theories of how Charles Bravo may have died - including Agatha Christie's solution, in her own words, for the very first time.
But was Christie correct? What's your verdict in this spellbinding case?
280 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 2, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 8, 2017
The poisoning of Charles Bravo, a successful lawyer in London in 1876 is a case many are familiar with. The imposing Belham Priory overlooking the city saw this man die an agonizing death over two days as a result of ingesting the rare poison antimony. Was he murdered or did he commit suicide or, was it a terrible accident?
Author Antony Matthew Brown reignites this intriguing case in his book Poisoning At The Priory, in his ongoing Cold Case Jury series. Here the evidence is presented and the different scenarios which could have transpired that day resulting in Bravo’s death are dramatically reconstructed, giving you the reader the challenge of determining what really happened and who was responsible. Did his wife, Florence take the life of her husband? Did her trusted aide, Mrs Cox, take it upon herself to kill? It is a book which invokes independent thought and provides the means for full consideration of the facts available in order to reach a conclusion. A refreshing approach to a famous mystery which allows the reader to fully engage with the story.
Read my full review of Poisoning at the Priory on Crime Traveller at: http://www.crimetraveller.org/2016/12...
January 14, 2020
I'm the author, so you can ignore my rating! However, I sincerely believe it is the best book in the Cold Case Jury series so far. It is an amazing cold case from 1876.
I received my advance copies yesterday, but I'd love to hear your views after the book has been published next week. Thank you to everyone who has rated or reviewed one of the Cold Case Jury books - I really appreciate it. AMB.
I received my advance copies yesterday, but I'd love to hear your views after the book has been published next week. Thank you to everyone who has rated or reviewed one of the Cold Case Jury books - I really appreciate it. AMB.
October 29, 2022
If you love murder mysteries, especially if you're a fan of Agatha Christie type of novels, then this is a must read. This is a true crime novel and not a fictional tale so not knowing what the truth is in the end is both a blessing and a curse because you'll never know if you were right. But don't let that stop you from enjoying this novel because I loved the role I was given as member of the Cold Case Jury, trying to make up my own mind about what happened to Charles Bravo. It might sound easy but it was anything but!
This novel is quite extensive, it first took me back in time to the events leading up to the fatal events and then plays out in great detail a few possible scenarios as to what might have happened. Bravo was married to Florence Ricardo née Campbell and only four months after their marriage he became ill and died a few days later of poisoning. Five doctors stood at his deathbed, called upon by his wife Florence, but he couldn't be saved.
There are a lot of questions surrounding his death that kept my grey cells working overtime. The first question up for debate was how the poison was administered. Was it in the red wine at dinner, or in the water in his room? You would think that this would be easily determined but those were other times and it's clear that they gave the patient all of their attention at the time but nobody was thinking of looking for evidence or getting to the bottom of it at the most crucial time so we're looking at opportunity here most of all.
Even though you can't even even be absolutely sure about this truth, I found this at least the easiest one to come to a conclusion. The hard work was yet to begin: did Bravo poison himself intentionally, or perhaps accidentally? There were statements made that support this if you believe the source. But there are also a number of murder theories to excite the reader involving Florence's housemaid Jane Cox, Florence's ex-lover Doctor Gully and Bravo's wife Florence herself. Whose word to believe and who lied? I couldn't make up my mind and needed someone else's opinion.
And opinions I certainly received, none other than Agatha Christie herself offered her opinion on this mystery. Other doctors of that time expressed their opinions as well, and other authors who wrote about this case in the following years, as well as the author of the novel himself of course. There seem to be as many different opinions as people were asked. I loved reading what everyone's thoughts were!
I know you want to ask me what I think and I'm actually torn between two very different scenarios. Bravo's behaviour was not entirely consistent, so I'm keeping Julian Fellow's opinion also in mind. He actually turned this historical unsolved case into one of five episodes of a televised crime docudrama series in 2004. My main concern about my initial thought is that it was established he was poisened when he was still alive. If you don't know who poisened you, wouldn't you want to know who did it and point fingers at someone? He actually never did that, the five doctors would certainly have mentioned it when questioned, so that is weird. The only trouble is that I don't see why he would take his own life, get rid of any evidence or not admit what he did while he was suffering so much, so I'm hesitantly inclined to consider a murder scenario as well.
Poisoned at the Priory is so perfect for a book club discussion. This novel has such food for thought and I think you could talk hours about it. After finishing the novel readers can cast their own verdict on a special site mentioned on the first page of the novel and see what other readers thought. I entered my own verdict and the rest of the jury is with me: 59% had the same thought and my runner-up scenario was good for the second largest percentage.
Poisened at the Priory is the fourth crime for the Cold Case Jury. The author has researched and substantiated this case thoroughly with witness statements, photos, expert opinions on the poison... and presented it in a very pleasant way to get through these facts (I thought it a great idea to start with the different scenarios and then follow up with evidence). This was an unexpected treat to read and I can't wait to read the other books in this series!
This novel is quite extensive, it first took me back in time to the events leading up to the fatal events and then plays out in great detail a few possible scenarios as to what might have happened. Bravo was married to Florence Ricardo née Campbell and only four months after their marriage he became ill and died a few days later of poisoning. Five doctors stood at his deathbed, called upon by his wife Florence, but he couldn't be saved.
There are a lot of questions surrounding his death that kept my grey cells working overtime. The first question up for debate was how the poison was administered. Was it in the red wine at dinner, or in the water in his room? You would think that this would be easily determined but those were other times and it's clear that they gave the patient all of their attention at the time but nobody was thinking of looking for evidence or getting to the bottom of it at the most crucial time so we're looking at opportunity here most of all.
Even though you can't even even be absolutely sure about this truth, I found this at least the easiest one to come to a conclusion. The hard work was yet to begin: did Bravo poison himself intentionally, or perhaps accidentally? There were statements made that support this if you believe the source. But there are also a number of murder theories to excite the reader involving Florence's housemaid Jane Cox, Florence's ex-lover Doctor Gully and Bravo's wife Florence herself. Whose word to believe and who lied? I couldn't make up my mind and needed someone else's opinion.
And opinions I certainly received, none other than Agatha Christie herself offered her opinion on this mystery. Other doctors of that time expressed their opinions as well, and other authors who wrote about this case in the following years, as well as the author of the novel himself of course. There seem to be as many different opinions as people were asked. I loved reading what everyone's thoughts were!
I know you want to ask me what I think and I'm actually torn between two very different scenarios. Bravo's behaviour was not entirely consistent, so I'm keeping Julian Fellow's opinion also in mind. He actually turned this historical unsolved case into one of five episodes of a televised crime docudrama series in 2004. My main concern about my initial thought is that it was established he was poisened when he was still alive. If you don't know who poisened you, wouldn't you want to know who did it and point fingers at someone? He actually never did that, the five doctors would certainly have mentioned it when questioned, so that is weird. The only trouble is that I don't see why he would take his own life, get rid of any evidence or not admit what he did while he was suffering so much, so I'm hesitantly inclined to consider a murder scenario as well.
Poisoned at the Priory is so perfect for a book club discussion. This novel has such food for thought and I think you could talk hours about it. After finishing the novel readers can cast their own verdict on a special site mentioned on the first page of the novel and see what other readers thought. I entered my own verdict and the rest of the jury is with me: 59% had the same thought and my runner-up scenario was good for the second largest percentage.
Poisened at the Priory is the fourth crime for the Cold Case Jury. The author has researched and substantiated this case thoroughly with witness statements, photos, expert opinions on the poison... and presented it in a very pleasant way to get through these facts (I thought it a great idea to start with the different scenarios and then follow up with evidence). This was an unexpected treat to read and I can't wait to read the other books in this series!
May 26, 2020
In 1876, disaster struck the London area of Balham when Charles Bravo, a newly-married lawyer, was found to have ingested an unknown poison, ultimately killing him. Initial evidence seemed to show that it was a case of suicide, an inquest ending with an open verdict. Such was the interest in the case, however, a second inquest returned a verdict of willful murder, with no guilty party ever brought to justice. Poisoned at the Priory, the fourth in the Cold Case Jury series, examines the evidence, inviting the reader to draw their own conclusions – was it suicide and, if not, who did kill Charles Bravo?
I really enjoyed the previous Cold Case Jury book, Move to Murder, and so I was delighted to see that the author had decided to tackle an unsolved crime that I have, for a long time, been intrigued by. The main players in the story are like characters straight out of a Victorian crime novel: the young, wealthy wife with a dubious past, the controlling husband, reliant upon his wife’s fortune and the lady’s companion, keen to keep her position, whatever the cost. In Poisoned at the Priory, Antony M Brown gives a complete picture of the lives of these characters, his extensive research being apparent.
The thing I like most about these books is that all theories are presented to you, the evidence for each one being given to help you make up your own mind as to what actually happened. I think that this is a great idea as in other books of this genre, what you generally get is an overview of what happened, the presented evidence pushing you towards the author’s way of thinking. Instead, we are presented with four theories, some more plausible than others, and we are even treated to the opinion of the great mystery writer Agatha Christie. I have always had my own theory about this case and after reading Poisoned at the Priory, it has not changed. I will let you decide for yourself though!
Although this is the fourth in the series, you do not need to have read any of the previous books as each one is a self-contained case. If you have an interest in true crime, then this is a series I can highly recommend and you won’t go far wrong by starting with this one.
I really enjoyed the previous Cold Case Jury book, Move to Murder, and so I was delighted to see that the author had decided to tackle an unsolved crime that I have, for a long time, been intrigued by. The main players in the story are like characters straight out of a Victorian crime novel: the young, wealthy wife with a dubious past, the controlling husband, reliant upon his wife’s fortune and the lady’s companion, keen to keep her position, whatever the cost. In Poisoned at the Priory, Antony M Brown gives a complete picture of the lives of these characters, his extensive research being apparent.
The thing I like most about these books is that all theories are presented to you, the evidence for each one being given to help you make up your own mind as to what actually happened. I think that this is a great idea as in other books of this genre, what you generally get is an overview of what happened, the presented evidence pushing you towards the author’s way of thinking. Instead, we are presented with four theories, some more plausible than others, and we are even treated to the opinion of the great mystery writer Agatha Christie. I have always had my own theory about this case and after reading Poisoned at the Priory, it has not changed. I will let you decide for yourself though!
Although this is the fourth in the series, you do not need to have read any of the previous books as each one is a self-contained case. If you have an interest in true crime, then this is a series I can highly recommend and you won’t go far wrong by starting with this one.
January 29, 2020
I think what's so intriguing about this cold case crime is that since the unsolved death of newly wed barrister Charles Bravo in 1876 so many people have tried to figure out just whether a murder had indeed been committed, or whether the victim was,an alleged suicide.
In Poisoned at the Priory there's a comprehensive breakdown of the alleged crime, along with transcripts from witnesses and descriptions of exhibits used in the subsequent inquests, all of which add up to a meticulous examination of the clues and facts as they were presented to the Victorian jury. Also at the time of the inquest into Charles Bravo's death there was an unprecedented interest with all the popular newspapers carrying items of scurrilous gossip and dubious facts. The author puts forward a very comprehensive case, explaining the situation in intricate detail so that the lives of Charles Bravo, and his new wife, Florence, are opened up to scrutiny, and the scattered clues which ooze piece by piece help to bring their individual stories to life. So many times I thought I had the perpetrator, if there was one, into the frame, only for another theory to be put forward so that by the end of the story, there are still at least four possible solutions. However, I have come to my decision...
Poisoned at the Priory is the fourth book in this Cold Case Jury series and whilst I haven't read the previous three books, something I plan to rectify as soon as possible, each of the books are complete standalone and describe, in great detail, a different unsolved crime in each book.
In Poisoned at the Priory there's a comprehensive breakdown of the alleged crime, along with transcripts from witnesses and descriptions of exhibits used in the subsequent inquests, all of which add up to a meticulous examination of the clues and facts as they were presented to the Victorian jury. Also at the time of the inquest into Charles Bravo's death there was an unprecedented interest with all the popular newspapers carrying items of scurrilous gossip and dubious facts. The author puts forward a very comprehensive case, explaining the situation in intricate detail so that the lives of Charles Bravo, and his new wife, Florence, are opened up to scrutiny, and the scattered clues which ooze piece by piece help to bring their individual stories to life. So many times I thought I had the perpetrator, if there was one, into the frame, only for another theory to be put forward so that by the end of the story, there are still at least four possible solutions. However, I have come to my decision...
Poisoned at the Priory is the fourth book in this Cold Case Jury series and whilst I haven't read the previous three books, something I plan to rectify as soon as possible, each of the books are complete standalone and describe, in great detail, a different unsolved crime in each book.
January 26, 2020
An interesting, thoroughly researched and well written, look at the at the unsolved murder of Charles Bravo in 1876.
I have read many accounts on the Bravo case and this book begins these theories, together in one place. The author gives the reader detailed information on each theory and allows you draw your own conclusions as to murderer or murderers of Charles Bravo. He also provides his theory as to what happened the fateful night in 1876.
Would I recommend this book ? Definitely it is a great edition to my true crime library and to be especially interesting to those who are new to the case as all the information you need on the case is provided.
I have read many accounts on the Bravo case and this book begins these theories, together in one place. The author gives the reader detailed information on each theory and allows you draw your own conclusions as to murderer or murderers of Charles Bravo. He also provides his theory as to what happened the fateful night in 1876.
Would I recommend this book ? Definitely it is a great edition to my true crime library and to be especially interesting to those who are new to the case as all the information you need on the case is provided.
January 7, 2020
A thorough account of this cold case. I have read and watched many accounts of this case. This ties them altogether and provides you the information to draw your own conclusions.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.
January 22, 2020
It's the first account I read of this case and I found it well written and well researched.
I read like a novel and it was a gripping read.
I was happy I read and it's recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
I read like a novel and it was a gripping read.
I was happy I read and it's recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
August 1, 2020
Another excellent read
I've read all the author's books in this series and this one was the latest. Again, well researched and thorough, no stone left unturned. Who killed Charles Bravo? Again it's up to us, the Jury, to decide.
Highly recommend.
I've read all the author's books in this series and this one was the latest. Again, well researched and thorough, no stone left unturned. Who killed Charles Bravo? Again it's up to us, the Jury, to decide.
Highly recommend.
November 15, 2020
The second one of these I have read. Really well done. Bravo (!)
July 9, 2022
I loved the interactive opportunities this book provided.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews