A fascinating collection of works on the famous trials of Mary Blandy for the murder of her father and Elizabeth Jeffries for that of her uncle by her lover, John Swann. Both trials generated a great amount of public interest in mid-18th century Britain and sensationalised accounts such as these provide a valuable insight into the manner in which women who committed crimes were perceived. Moreover, the collection includes the testimony of the women themselves and detailed descriptions of their trials.
Mary Blandy’s trial was notable both for the huge amount of public interest it generated and as an example of the early use of scientific evidence to establish guilt, namely, the testing of the arsenic package (Farmer, 2008). She was tried and found guilty for murdering her father by poisoning with arsenic in order to obtain his purported fortune of £10,000. Francis Blandy refused to provide for his daughter in marriage insisting that she would only inherit his fortune on his death. Hoping to marry her lover Captain William Cranstoun, the son of a Scottish lord, Mary began to lace her father’s tea with arsenic, according to Mary’s account, at Cranstoun’s instigation and believing it to be a ‘love powder’ which would persuade her father to look favourably on the match. After her father’s death, Mary, who had been seen mixing something into her father’s oatmeal, was arrested, fragments of a package containing arsenic were salvaged by the servants, and an apparently incriminating letter she had sent to her lover intercepted. Her trial provided an early example of the use of scientific evidence to establish guilt and involved the testing of arsenic by medical investigators. She was found guilty by the jury within five minutes but public opinion was divided over the case as it was considered unnatural for an accomplished and educated woman to consider murder.
Elizabeth Jeffries, on the other hand, was not considered as privileged as Mary Blandy, the murder of her uncle was another sensational trial, mostly because it involved a young woman, a lover, and a murdered family member. She had been adopted at a young age by her uncle who began abusing her when she turned fifteen, including forcing an abortion on her when she became pregnant. Learning that he had made a will in her favour, she promised John Swann, who was in service to her uncle, that she would marry him once her uncle was dead. The tragic circumstances of her childhood provided lurid elements to her story but also generated sympathy in the printed tracts. Her actions were condemned and focused largely on her voracious appetites, mostly when it came to sex, drinking and gambling. There is less doubt about Elizabeth’s guilt in these pamphlets than in those related to Mary Blandy, however, there is a surprising amount of sympathy when it comes to the author’s sense of justice. The account is generally sensational and condemns the actions of Elizabeth and Swann, particularly Elizabeth, whom the author claims “was of a very vicious and wicked inclination naturally” and “would drink very excessively, was extremely passionate and vindicative against any one who she conceived ill-will to” [Authentic Memoirs, p.15].
These are not just sensationalized accounts of two murders committed by women and their lovers, they also include testimony from the women themselves, and detailed descriptions of their trials. A great deal of time is spent on discussing their character; in the case of Mary Blandy, there is some surprise that such a woman would consider murdering her father, whereas the pamphlets that detail the life of Elizabeth Jeffries draw comparisons between her appetites (mostly when it came to sex, drinking, and gambling) and her plans to murder her uncle. This is an important collection of pamphlets that together reflect the gradual forming of public opinion through the proliferation of printed material, including witness accounts and portraits of the women, as well as offering an insight into a particular moment in English legal history.
Detailed list of the six pamphlets:
