Description

William Hodge & Company, Edinburgh [Published Date: 1905]. Hardcover, 371 pp. No other printings listed. In acceptable to poor condition/ NO dust jacket. Green cloth covered boards with gold letting on spine. Nicking and fraying to cloth at corner tips and top and bottom of spine. Bumping to edges and corners and moderate overall scuffing and soiling to covers as well. Front hinge is cracked along endpapers and part of Appendix XIII at pages 371-374 have pulled apart from binding and are laid-in, but all pages are present and remainder of binding is intact. Moderate foxing throughout with heavier spotting to pages near front and rear of the book. Previous owner's name on front free end paper. Otherwise pages are unmarked. A ready copy only. A comprehensive account of one of Scotland’s most famous criminal trials. Madeleine Smith, a young woman from a well-to-do Glasgow family, was accused of poisoning her lover, Pierre Emile L'Angelier, with arsenic in 1857. The case drew significant public attention due to its sensational elements, including secret love letters, social class tensions, and forensic evidence. The book covers the full proceedings of the trial, including the indictment, evidence presented by both the prosecution and defense, testimonies from key witnesses, and the final verdict. It provides insights into Victorian-era social norms and judicial practices, highlighting the challenges faced by women in that period. The trial ultimately resulted in a verdict of "Not Proven," a unique aspect of Scottish law, which left Smith neither convicted nor acquitted, allowing her to escape a guilty verdict while maintaining a cloud of suspicion over her reputation.