Linda Stratmann

The crime of Frederick and Maria Manning in 1849 has all the elements of a classic; the brutal cold-blooded murder of a friend for money, the discovery of a buried decomposing corpse, the escape of the couple and dramatic pursuit and capture by the police. It was a national sensation which culminated in the last public double hanging of a husband and wife, an event which shocked Charles Dickens and played a part in the later abolition of public executions. But one mystery remains - both Frederick and Maria asserted their innocence, each claiming that the other alone was guilty. Was either of them telling the truth? This new examination of the case offers a compelling resolution.

The Illustrated Police News cost just a penny, providing an affordable illustrated roundup of `all the startling events of the week' from its first issue published on 20th February 1864. Promising to educate the people with fantastic features such as `BURGLARIES OF THE WEEK' and its bountiful, often outlandish, illustrations, the paper was also a-perhaps unexpected- champion of social change. With crime historian Linda Stratmann as guide, the articles and special reports of the newspaper provide a fascinating view into the reading tastes and daily lives of its readership throughout the decades. Led by the newspaper's bombastic imagery sourced from the Library's extensive archive, this new book revels in the infamy and social significance behind the exuberant headlines of this extraordinary periodical.

Murder by poison alarmed, enthralled, and in many ways encapsulated the Victorian age. Linda Stratmann’s dark and splendid social history reveals the nineteenth century as a gruesome battleground where poisoners went head-to-head with authorities who strove to detect poisons, control their availability, and bring the guilty to justice. She corrects many misconceptions about particular poisons and documents how the evolution of issues such as marital rights and the legal protection of children impacted poisonings. Combining archival research with a novelist’s eye, Stratmann charts the era’s inexorable rise of poison cases both shocking and sad.

London1882: In this, her most demanding case, Frances Doughty goes undercover for Her Majesty’s Government to investigate some disturbing information regarding the apparently innocuous Bayswater Bicycle Club. Before long, she is plunged into a murky world of deadly secrets, a suspicious disappearance and a brutal murder, and the Lady Detective is forced to do the unthinkable to avoid becoming the next victim. With a new and exciting future before her, is there anything the dauntless Miss Doughty cannot do?