Trial for the murder of Harriet Louisa Lane.

"At Hertford Assizes on 6th and 7th January, 1824, Thurtell and Hunt were tried for the murder of Mr. Weare in Gill's Hill Lane, near Elstree. It was almost the last famous trial to take place under the old Tudor procedure, rightly described by Mr. Justice Park as "inquisitorial"; and it was the first trial "by newspaper" and the first in which there was any very serious collision between the Bench and the Press."

The trial of Mary Queen of Scots took place in the Star Chamber, and was the first formal trial of a crowned and accredited Sovereign in historic times. The unfortunate Queen was not tried, as many people think, for any deeds or misdeeds done during her reign in Scotland, but on account of her alleged complicity in the Babington plot which designed to free her and kill Queen Elizabeth of England. This volume gives the State Trial, the legal processes which led up to it, the tortuous policy of the English lawyers, and a rare account of the Queen's last miseries borne with such dignity and bravery.

The trial of Mr. and Mrs. Seddon for the murder of Miss Barrow, their wealthy lodger, took place at the Old Bailey, and occupied ten days. Miss Barrow's death was originally certified as being due to natural causes. No suspicion was aroused until relatives enquired about her property and the money she was known to have had in her possession. Seddon explained that she had parted with her property to him for an annuity, and that he had found a sum of only Li? in her possession. Two months later Miss Barrow's body was exhumed, and it was found that arsenic was present in the remains. The jury convicted Seddon and acquitted his wife, although the evidence against him pressed just as heavily upon her.

This is the true story about a respected businessman, Henry Wainwright, who had everything he needed in 1871. A wife and 5 children and a delightful London townhouse home. But in 1872, Henry fell in love with attractive Harriet Lane. He then embarked on a risky affair with Harriet coupled with gambling and flirtations with ballet girls from the Pavilion Theatre, Whitechapel. Harriet produced two children as Henry sets her up in lodgings with an allowance as they pretended to be husband & wife. Henry’s finances then tumbled out of control and bankruptcy loomed. What happened next was a scandalous conspiracy which ended in murder, and a plot which fooled everyone into thinking that the victim had gone abroad. Henry Wainwright got away with murder for a year before a schoolboy error led to his capture. The case ruined the lives of three families. This fast-moving story will transport to a world of polite, East End society in the mid 1870’s of Victorian London, but with a seedy underbelly. 14 years before the infamous Jack the Ripper Murders, it was the original, ‘Whitechapel Mystery’ which was probably the most sensational criminal case of the 1870’s and involves a chase through the city and across London Bridge. This story also involves Henry’s younger brother Thomas who was also involved in the conspiracy to murder Harriet Lane. The case paints a vivid picture of Victorian London. The police investigation and Old Bailey trial is revealed in glorious detail. It’s a story of love, weakness and devious, desperate liars. It’s a rollickingly good Victorian scandal. Written in an entertaining style, the book contains a huge amount of fascinating detail, not only of the murder but about the lives of so many of the characters in the story. It’s a huge slice of London life, 1875 style. This story deserves to be much better known and will be fascinating to anyone interested in Whitechapel or Victorian Crime.