Discover the true story of Victorian Scotland's trial of the century. 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.

"Centered around Madeline Karno, an ambitious young woman eager to shatter the confines of 1890s France, this novel is a gripping mystery that takes the reader on a captivating journey to find the cause behind a series of suspicious deaths" --

A scandalous secret affair in 19th Scotland between an upper class woman and a gentleman of lower standing ends in his murder by poison...

 In 1855, Glasgow socialite Madeleine Smith began a flirtation with Pierre L'Angelier, a handsome clerk--for her a mere diversion. But L'Angelier sought social mobility. Their class disparity gave her control of the intrigue but when the relationship turned sexual, the power imbalance shifted. The Scots recognized irregular unions in certain cases. L'Angelier considered Smith his wife, a part she at first discreetly played. When he refused to step aside and allow her a more socially acceptable marriage, his removal became necessary. Smith's sensational murder trial captivated both Britain and America. Despite compelling evidence of guilt, various factors led to her acquittal--her class and gender, the peculiarities of Scottish law--and many believed the case went to trial only because the Crown feared blatant confirmation that justice was not blind.

Madeleine Smith's murder trial was made famous by the shocking nature of her letters to the lover she was supposed to have poisoned. She has always been thought guilty of the crime, dispite the lack of enough evidence to convict her, but now, 150 years later, Campbells foresic discoveries turns the case on it's head.

Kate McCann's personal account of the disappearance and continuing search for her daughter, revised and updated. 'The decision to publish this book has been very difficult, and taken with heavy hearts ... My reason for writing it is simple: to give an account of the truth ... Writing this memoir has entailed recording some very personal, intimate and emotional aspects of our lives. Sharing these with strangers does not come easily to me, but if I hadn't done so I would not have felt the book gave as full a picture as it is possible for me to give. As with every action we have taken over the last five years, it ultimately boils down to whether what we are doing could help us to find Madeleine. When the answer to that question is yes, or even possibly, our family can cope with anything ... Nothing is more important to us than finding our little girl.' -- Kate McCann 'A must-read' Sunday Express 'Kate's book blazes with the sheer visceral force of her love for her daughter' Daily Mail 'Deeply moving' Guardian