The secret poisoner
Subtitle: a century of murder
By: Linda Stratmann
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 328
ISBN-13: 9780300204735
Subjects: Poisoners; Murderers; History
Description: "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"--
Notes: "The book club, BBC Radio 2"--Jacket.

Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The Devilish Dumplings; title: Smothered in Onions; title: The Greatest Refinement of Villainy; title: Arsenic and Old Graves; title: The Suspicious of Mr Marsh; title: French Porcelain; title: This Troublesome World; title: Getting Away with Murder; title: Alarm and Indignation; title: The Essex Factor; title: Tobacco Kills; title: Nil by Mouth; title: The Palmer Act; title: Expert Witnesses; title: Deadly Doctors; title: Matrimonal Causes; title: Sleight of Hand; title: Disappearing Poison; title: Our American Cousins.