The Perreaus and Mrs. Rudd: Forgery and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century London

by Donna T. Andrew, Randall McGowen

"The Perreaus and Mrs. Rudd is stunningly wrought. Anyone with the slightest interest in crime or its history, in the press and sensationalism, in the cultural history of modern economic and urban life, in London or eighteenth century England could not fail to be intrigued by the stories of two identical twin brothers—one good, happily married and respectable, the other not so good and living with a courtesan—who die hand-in-hand on the gallows. Are they the victims of their own corruption, or of the wiles of the wicked Mrs. Rudd? This book is micro-history at its best."—Thomas Laqueur, author of Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud

"Dee-li-cious!!! Immensely readable, this delectable true-crime story of eighteenth-century forgery, deceit, and ambition casts light on a wide range of socially significant sites, from the credit market to the world of fashion, from the law court to the imperial stage. The Perreaus and Mrs. Rudd is a tour de force of historical scholarship, and it's an engrossing story as well."—Mary Poovey, author of A History of the Modern Fact: Problems of Knowledge in the Sciences of Wealth and Society

Genres: History, True Crime, 18th Century, British Literature

390 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2001

Reviews

[Lila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Later in her life, James Boswell had an affair with Mrs. Rudd, fascinated with her notoriety. This is a study of the 1775 newspaper accounts of the trials, the letters to the editors, and the hanging of the twin Perreaus brothers, along with the era's concern with forgery and view of women. The authors make the connection between Rudd's posturing and positioning with that of the heroines of sentimental novels. There is also a discussion of Rudd's autobiographical novel The Belle Widows (1789). Although the reading is a bit dry, this is a well supported scholarly study of the events that captured the public's imagination just before the American Revolution.