Murder, Mystery and My Family: A True-Crime Casebook from the Hit BBC Series

by Karen Farrington

Five Women. Five families’ search for justice. All Sarah Chesham wanted was to survive, at a time when crops were poor and money was tight. By the time she died she was branded a merciless child killer. All Emily Swann wanted was the love of a man who wouldn’t abuse her. By the time she died she was depicted as a vengeful, drunken hussy. All Edith Thompson wanted was a romance with a man who adored her. By the time she died she was seen as a scheming and manipulative adulteress. All Louie Calvert wanted was to be heard. Yet when she died she slipped almost immediately into the shadows, like thousands of other women like her. All Charlotte Bryant wanted was a distraction from a dreary life. By the time she died she was deemed a seductress and an arch poisoner. No one wants to believe that their mother, sister or daughter is capable of murder. When a woman is charged with a killing, we judge more harshly and punish more severely than when a man does the same. Murder, Mystery and My Family explores five historical true-crime tales from the hit BBC series, each with a woman at the heart of the story, from a case of ‘poison panic’ in the 19th century to a post-war murder that gripped the nation. Tales of infidelity and greed, corruption and deceit run throughout – but was justice served for all? Descendants of those convicted revisit each case in search of answers. Based on extensive research, including original court records and interviews with descendants, Murder, Mystery and My Family delves deeper into each crime, while also looking at our changing attitudes to women who have found themselves at the centre of our darkest dramas.

Genres: True Crime

336 pages, Hardcover

Published October 31, 2019

About the author

Karen Farrington is a former journalist who has contributed to numerous publications on military history. She has also written extensively on assassinations, natural disasters, & religion.

Reviews

[Ant Koplowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a shame that the TV series upon which this book is based, is hardly remembered. This is a well written and absorbing account of five tragic cases where women were executed for murder during the 19th and 20th centuries. I was aware of a couple of the cases, but the others were new to me. Karen Farrington has done an excellent job of bringing these women's stories to life, and the extent of the research is obvious, but not intrusive. The stories were so sad, women (although not all of them blameless people) who were the victims of society's structural mysogeny. I am not sure any of the women concerned received a fair hearing or a fair trial when judged by today's standards. But more worrying, is that at least four of them did not receive a fair trial even at the time.

An excellent read.

© Kopolwitz 2020

[Amy Russell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a huge true crime fan but I just really couldn't get into the book. I did DNF the book

[Ken Sampson · Rating 4 out of 5]

[10 Feb 2021] The premise of this book is a written account of a series of TV programmes shown on BBC 1 between 2017-2020. Essentially it researches, historical murder cases with the aim of using new information, modern techniques and up-to-date standards to reflect on the original outcomes, often involving descendants of those involved to give it a more personal twist. Originally I had thought the book was an in-depth account of one-case, but discovered there were five cases more briefly dealt with. Most of the material is about the actual events which are well crafted and as characters are brought to life well.

The reflections from the Barristers - one for the prosecution and one for the defence are brief, sometimes and the 'decision' from the retired Judge is brief in the extreme. It is relatively surprising that mostly the historical judgements were agreed with. Unfortunately some of the characters were far from worthy of concern and the 'modern assumptions' and standards were clunky when applied to historical situations when standards were very different.

It was an enjoyable and easy read, somewhat engaging and interesting, but ultimately, in my opinion, it fails to deliver on the premise as mostly despite their best efforts most of the protagonists were likely highly to have committed the murders that they were accused of. This particular volume seems to be around Women who killed their husbands one wonders if Divorce had been available whether that would have prevented spousal murder. A quick & easy, non absorbing read.

[Anastasiya M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a true-crime fan, through and through!

I can spend hours on end, binge watching true-crime documentaries. I’ve watched almost all of the documentaries available on Netflix and I’m always on the lookout for new ones.
I found this true-crime book at the library, and while I haven’t gotten around to reading any books from the genre, this seemed like a good place to start.

Read the full review here: https://sincerelyyoursannie.com/2022/...