Bibliograph

The strange affair of Madeleine Smith, Victorian Scotland's trial of the century, Douglas MacGowan

Type

Label

The strange affair of Madeleine Smith, Victorian Scotland's trial of the century, Douglas MacGowan

Language

eng

Index

no index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The strange affair of Madeleine Smith

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Responsibility statement

Douglas MacGowan

Sub title

Victorian Scotland's trial of the century

Summary

It was a case that rocked Victorian society. Emile L'Angelier was a working-class immigrant from the Channel Islands who began a clandestine affair with prominent Glasgow socialite Madeleine Smith. Six weeks after Emile threatened to show Madeleine's father their passionate letters, on 23 March 1857, he was found dead from arsenic poisoning. The evidence against Madeleine seemed overwhelming as she went to trial for murdering her lover. Douglas MacGowan's vivid account reads by turns like a thriller, a love story and a courtroom drama. He quotes extensively from contemporary sources, notably the pathology reports, the trial testimony and the infamous correspondence between Madeleine and Emile, whose explicit content so shocked Victorian sensibilities. Ultimately it is up to the reader to judge Madeleine's guilt or innocence

Target audience

adult

Classification