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The First Forensic Hanging: The Toxic Truth that Killed Mary Blandy
'For the sake of decency, gentlemen, don't hang me high.' This was the last request of modest murderess Mary Blandy, who was hanged for poisoning her father in 1752. Concerned that the young men in the crowd who had thronged to see her execution might look up her skirts as she was 'turned off' by the hangman, this last nod to propriety might appear farcical in one who was about to meet her maker. Yet this was just another aspect of a case which attracted so much public attention in its day that some determined spectators even went to the lengths of climbing through the courtroom windows to get a glimpse of Mary while on trial. Indeed her case remained newsworthy for the best part of 1752, for months garnering endless scrutiny and mixed reaction in the popular press.
Opinions are certainly still divided on the matter of Mary's 'intention' in the poisoning of her father, and the extent to which her coercive lover, Captain William Cranstoun, was responsible for this murder by proxy. Yet Mary Blandy's trial was also notable in that it was the first time that detailed medical evidence had been presented in a court of law on a charge of murder by poisoning, and the first time that any court had accepted toxicological evidence in an arsenic poisoning case. The forensic legacy of the acceptance of Dr Anthony Addington's application of chemistry to a criminal investigation another compelling aspect of The First Forensic Hanging.
Opinions are certainly still divided on the matter of Mary's 'intention' in the poisoning of her father, and the extent to which her coercive lover, Captain William Cranstoun, was responsible for this murder by proxy. Yet Mary Blandy's trial was also notable in that it was the first time that detailed medical evidence had been presented in a court of law on a charge of murder by poisoning, and the first time that any court had accepted toxicological evidence in an arsenic poisoning case. The forensic legacy of the acceptance of Dr Anthony Addington's application of chemistry to a criminal investigation another compelling aspect of The First Forensic Hanging.
- GenresHistory
152 pages, Paperback
Published November 16, 2018
About the author
Summer Strevens
9 books12 followersBorn in London, Summer Strevens now lives and writes in Oxfordshire. Capitalising on a lifelong passion for historical research, as well as penning feature articles of regional historical interest for newspapers, magazines and online publications, Summer’s published books include Haunted Yorkshire Dales, York Murder & Crime, The Birth of Chocolate City: Life in Georgian York, The A-Z of Curiosities of the Yorkshire Dales, Fashionably Fatal, Before They Were Fiction, The Yorkshire Witch: The Life and Trial of Mary Bateman and Burned at the Stake: The Life & Death of Mary Channing.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 13, 2019
Summer Strevens, The First Forensic Hanging (Pen & Sword, 2018)
The trial of Mary Blandy in March 1752 took one day with five minutes added on to deliver the verdict: Guilty! She was hanged for poisoning her father with arsenic, she might even have been guilty. Summer Strevens untangles the story of Mary Blandy in a fresh interpretation of the evidence while placing the role of forensic science in its rightful place at the heart of the trial. The Court accepted the findings of Dr Anthony Addington, but many believed, and still do, that Mary’s lover Captain William Henry Cranstoun lay behind the scheme to kill her father. He escaped Scot free, though he too died just eight months later.
Born in Henley in 1720 into a respectable middle-class family, Mary Blandy received an education suitable for her class and gender and was well versed in the social graces. She also suffered from the effects of smallpox, but her dowry ‘masked’ the scars. Her parents, including her father Francis, demanded any suitor for Mary had to come from the right stock. Enter Captain Cranstoun. He fit the bill, at first, and the two were soon engaged, but the fact he was already married proved to be a significant obstacle. The engagement was off. Undeterred, Cranstoun was soon back in the picture, but Francis knew a rat when he sensed one. That suspicion led to his untimely demise, though how much Mary knew about it is still open to question. Strevens continues the narrative through the murder and investigation, ending with Mary held in Oxford Goal and on trial for her life. Addington’s testimony tipped the scales against Mary, but she met her sentence with dignity. In the five weeks running up to her execution, Mary corresponded with various people, including pamphleteers and another woman of similar background awaiting execution. Mary died with a dignity lacking in her executioners and her body buried with her parents. Strevens adds the curious detail that Mary’s ghost may still be seen wandering around Henley. She concludes with an update on failed modern attempts to exonerate Mary and her own balanced verdict on Mary’s culpability and sentencing.
The First Forensic Hanging is a straightforward retelling of this famous case. Strevens deftly handles the evidence and provides useful context on Mary Blandy’s world. Her writing is quite engaging and Strevens has a knack for picking out the telling details, though she might have been bolder with her verdict.
The trial of Mary Blandy in March 1752 took one day with five minutes added on to deliver the verdict: Guilty! She was hanged for poisoning her father with arsenic, she might even have been guilty. Summer Strevens untangles the story of Mary Blandy in a fresh interpretation of the evidence while placing the role of forensic science in its rightful place at the heart of the trial. The Court accepted the findings of Dr Anthony Addington, but many believed, and still do, that Mary’s lover Captain William Henry Cranstoun lay behind the scheme to kill her father. He escaped Scot free, though he too died just eight months later.
Born in Henley in 1720 into a respectable middle-class family, Mary Blandy received an education suitable for her class and gender and was well versed in the social graces. She also suffered from the effects of smallpox, but her dowry ‘masked’ the scars. Her parents, including her father Francis, demanded any suitor for Mary had to come from the right stock. Enter Captain Cranstoun. He fit the bill, at first, and the two were soon engaged, but the fact he was already married proved to be a significant obstacle. The engagement was off. Undeterred, Cranstoun was soon back in the picture, but Francis knew a rat when he sensed one. That suspicion led to his untimely demise, though how much Mary knew about it is still open to question. Strevens continues the narrative through the murder and investigation, ending with Mary held in Oxford Goal and on trial for her life. Addington’s testimony tipped the scales against Mary, but she met her sentence with dignity. In the five weeks running up to her execution, Mary corresponded with various people, including pamphleteers and another woman of similar background awaiting execution. Mary died with a dignity lacking in her executioners and her body buried with her parents. Strevens adds the curious detail that Mary’s ghost may still be seen wandering around Henley. She concludes with an update on failed modern attempts to exonerate Mary and her own balanced verdict on Mary’s culpability and sentencing.
The First Forensic Hanging is a straightforward retelling of this famous case. Strevens deftly handles the evidence and provides useful context on Mary Blandy’s world. Her writing is quite engaging and Strevens has a knack for picking out the telling details, though she might have been bolder with her verdict.
November 10, 2018
A short book (125 pages) covering the life and death of Mary Blandy. Whether through ignorance and induced by her fiance William Cranstoun or knowingly, Mary fed her father Francis arsenic in his tea and gruel, killing him in 1751. She was hanged for his murder after the jury decided she'd intended to kill him.
It was the first case in which medical men were expert witnesses at a trial, and although Dr. Addington's analysis wasn't brilliant and certainly wouldn't hold up today, it was the best they had at the time (no Marsh test for another 80 years) and the beginning of medical jurisprudence.
Strevens does a good job of bringing this case to life, using the many, many contemporary documents and exploring the consequences for medical jurisprudence and the social context of this murder, as well as imagining what would have happened had it taken place today.
It was the first case in which medical men were expert witnesses at a trial, and although Dr. Addington's analysis wasn't brilliant and certainly wouldn't hold up today, it was the best they had at the time (no Marsh test for another 80 years) and the beginning of medical jurisprudence.
Strevens does a good job of bringing this case to life, using the many, many contemporary documents and exploring the consequences for medical jurisprudence and the social context of this murder, as well as imagining what would have happened had it taken place today.
March 5, 2019
This book is a biography about an 18th century, young, gentle woman called Mary Blandy. I thoroughly enjoyed the way the author bought these long ago characters to life.
Its based on Mary’s downfall. She was accused of murdering her loving father with Arsenic.
This poison was generally used a lot during that era for many purposes including cleaning and in some cases very small amounts were prescribed for medicinal purposes. It was actually a substance pretty easy to come by in that day and age.
Mary came from a high and wealthy family and her parents were eager to marry her off to a good husband.
The author supplies many interesting facts about Mary’s courting experiences. But eventually only one man becomes the focus in Mary’s life. Captain William Cranstoun. There were a few problems for the couples..as William was already married, and had to ‘get himself out of it’ (by any means necessary it seemed!) So he courted Mary for a while but only showed his true conniving side when he finds out that Mary’s father plans to give over a substantial dowry for his daughter in the event of their marriage.
This is when William Cranstoun stars to show his devious & manipulative ways.
From the authors extensive research It’s clear that it was Cranstoun who coerced poor, naive Mary to start poisoning her old father . Whilst he, Cranstoun himself disappeared back to his old life stating he had to visit sick relatives. Therefore giving him an alibi . This put Mary in the frame and she would inevitably hang for the crime .
I don’t want to give away to much to the story.
It’s such an interesting read and like many of my other favourite factual based history books,this almost read like a work of fiction.
I only had a couple of issues with the editing of this book. There were a lot of instances where words were overused. Every couple of sentences the word ‘Nevertheless’ was used, and quite honestly wasn’t used in the correct way...
Another issue I had was that throughout the book the author makes references to ‘Marys Own Account’ but there’s no evidence of this ..even in the Appendix..?
But I would definitely recommend reading this book if you’re interested in finding out about Mary Blandy. The first woman who was sentenced to hang using the first forensic evidence in court.
A very interesting read!
It was a pleasure to read. I adore a non -fiction that reads like a work of fiction, and this one flows very well.
{I was given a copy from the publisher and wanted to share my review! }
Its based on Mary’s downfall. She was accused of murdering her loving father with Arsenic.
This poison was generally used a lot during that era for many purposes including cleaning and in some cases very small amounts were prescribed for medicinal purposes. It was actually a substance pretty easy to come by in that day and age.
Mary came from a high and wealthy family and her parents were eager to marry her off to a good husband.
The author supplies many interesting facts about Mary’s courting experiences. But eventually only one man becomes the focus in Mary’s life. Captain William Cranstoun. There were a few problems for the couples..as William was already married, and had to ‘get himself out of it’ (by any means necessary it seemed!) So he courted Mary for a while but only showed his true conniving side when he finds out that Mary’s father plans to give over a substantial dowry for his daughter in the event of their marriage.
This is when William Cranstoun stars to show his devious & manipulative ways.
From the authors extensive research It’s clear that it was Cranstoun who coerced poor, naive Mary to start poisoning her old father . Whilst he, Cranstoun himself disappeared back to his old life stating he had to visit sick relatives. Therefore giving him an alibi . This put Mary in the frame and she would inevitably hang for the crime .
I don’t want to give away to much to the story.
It’s such an interesting read and like many of my other favourite factual based history books,this almost read like a work of fiction.
I only had a couple of issues with the editing of this book. There were a lot of instances where words were overused. Every couple of sentences the word ‘Nevertheless’ was used, and quite honestly wasn’t used in the correct way...
Another issue I had was that throughout the book the author makes references to ‘Marys Own Account’ but there’s no evidence of this ..even in the Appendix..?
But I would definitely recommend reading this book if you’re interested in finding out about Mary Blandy. The first woman who was sentenced to hang using the first forensic evidence in court.
A very interesting read!
It was a pleasure to read. I adore a non -fiction that reads like a work of fiction, and this one flows very well.
{I was given a copy from the publisher and wanted to share my review! }
March 1, 2023
Unfortunately this did not live up to expectations. I was really hoping this would concentrate more on the actual forensic side. Instead there was more about Mary Blandy's life and several side tracks about other cases.
January 29, 2024
Excellent book, well written and thought out.
January 2, 2026
Informatiative and to the point giving the reader a complete look at the events leading up to the crime and the trial. Highly recommend
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews