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Linda Stratmann
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The Secret Poisoner: A Century of Murder Kindle Edition

by Linda Stratmann (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 out of 5 stars 94 ratings
“This fine social history charts the changing patterns of using poison” and the forensic methods developed to detect it in the Victorian Era (The Guardian, UK).
 
Murder by poison alarmed, enthralled, and in some ways even defined 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 scientific and legal authorities who strove to detect poisons, control their availability, and bring the guilty to justice.
 
Separating fact from Hollywood fiction, Stratmann corrects many misconceptions about particular poisons and their deadly effects. She also documents how the motives for poisoning—which often involved domestic unhappiness—evolved as marriage and child protection laws began to change. Combining archival research with vivid storytelling, Stratmann charts the era’s inexorable rise of poison cases.
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  1. Print length
    357 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Yale University Press
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    March 22, 2016
  6. File size
    7.5 MB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

'I love Linda Stratmann’s non fiction work. This is a beautifully researched and written history of poisoners - so vivid you can see yourself there on every page.' - Peter James, author of You're Dead

About the Author

Linda Stratmann is the author of several nonfiction books, including The Marquess of Queensberry.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01CESQNFQ
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Yale University Press
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 22, 2016
  • Edition ‏ : ‎ 1st
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 7.5 MB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 357 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0300219548
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 out of 5 stars 94 ratings

About the author

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Linda Stratmann

Linda Stratmann

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Linda was born in Leicester in 1948 and first started scribbling stories and poems at the age of six. She became interested in true crime when watching Edgar Lustgarten on TV in the 1950s. Linda attended Wyggeston Girls Grammar School, trained to be a chemists dispenser, and later studied at Newcastle University where she obtained a first in Psychology. She then spent 27 years in the civil service before leaving to devote her time to writing. Linda loves spending time in libraries and archives and really enjoys giving talks on her subject. Visit linda at her website www.lindastratmann.com

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
94 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • A.L. Jackson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Interesting
    Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    The Secret Poisoner mainly delves into poisoning cases in 1800s UK, with a few US cases being touched on. I found the book to be extremely interesting, as well as quite easy to read. (Not too technical, but certainly not dumbed down either.) I'm curious now to see what other books this author has written.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • J
    4.0 out of 5 stars ‘Poison murders are, with few exceptions, usually planned and rarely the result of an altercation or a sudden fit of temper,...
    Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2016
    ... as is so often the case with crimes of violence.’

    Murder by poisoning in the Victorian age was comparatively easy. Poison, in various forms, was both cheap and readily available. In this book, using particular cases, Linda Stratmann writes about the availability of poison, about advances in detecting poison, and about developing controls over the availability and sale of poison.

    It was, as Ms Stratmann points out, difficult to prove the act of poisoning even if the cause of death seemed clear. Identifying the cause of death wasn’t always easy: some poisonings would not have been identified, others would have been (mis) diagnosed as cholera. With poisoning, unlike most other forms of murder, it is possible that the cause of death could be considered natural.

    But who are the poisoners? Given that the murderer needs both the ability to obtain poison and the opportunity to administer it, the closeness generally required in preparing food or administering medicine would provide opportunity for introducing poison. Women poisoners, according to analysis for the period between 1750 and 1914, are most likely to be the mother, wife, other family member or servant of the victim. Men are most likely to be husband, father, medical attendant, lover, son or friend.

    I found this book fascinating, especially reading about the advances in detecting the presence of poison. It’s not for the squeamish: there’s a lot of detail provided. I’d not previously read about some of the cases Ms Stratmann has included in her book. Consider Christiana Edmunds, a spinster living in Brighton, who became obsessed with her doctor, and in 1870 tried to kill his wife with poisoned chocolates. Her attempt failed, but she tried to divert suspicion onto the chocolate sellers, Maynard’s, by leaving packets of their chocolate creams (laced with strychnine) around Brighton. She was eventually apprehended, but not until after a four year old boy, Sidney Albert Barker, had died.

    Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Yale University Press for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

    Jennifer Cameron-Smith
    3 people found this helpful
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  • George Poirier
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Sinister Topic Beautifully Presented
    Reviewed in the United States on July 5, 2020
    This book covers the murderous use of poisons mainly from the 1810s to the 1890s. Most (but not all) of the poisonings presented here have taken place in the UK and in France. But in addition to presenting murder cases, the author also discusses the scientific means developed, over that time period, to detect, post mortem, various poisons in the human body as well as the evolution of legislation aimed at making the purchasing of poisons more difficult, in an effort to curtail poisonings – both accidental and criminal.

    I enjoyed this book very much. The author seamlessly weaves between chillingly recounted murder cases and the evolution of scientific poison detection methods thanks to the efforts of the scientists who were attempting to push back those frontiers.
    3 people found this helpful
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  • Shoshana Hathaway
    5.0 out of 5 stars something in the soup
    Reviewed in the United States on September 24, 2016
    The Secret Poisoner
    By Linda Stratmann

    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 relationship and fascination with poisons, poisoners and their affects on society in Europe, but especially in England.

    This is an extremely readable book, and is part history, part academic presentation, and part forensic textbook. For anyone fascinated by forensics, murder, murders and their weapons of choice, this is a thoroughly absorbing reading experience.

    Although meticulously and thoroughly researched, this author has the eye for detail, and the voice for expression of a novelist, and the resulting combination kept me reading from the first page to the last, and enjoying the experience.

    I will only say that if you are squeamish or have a sensitive digestive system, this might not be the book for you, since there are comprehensive details of the symptoms and actions of various poisons on the human body, and descriptions of autopsy results …that probably shouldn’t be read while, or just after, eating.

    This aside, I can thoroughly recommend this incredibly informative, thorough, thought provoking, and yes, even entertaining book.
    4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • PEM C
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 3, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Fast delivery. As described.
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  • Maggie May
    4.0 out of 5 stars I was expecting more details about actual murders but most ...
    Reviewed in Canada on May 20, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I was expecting more details about actual murders but most of the book was very technical and told me a lot of detail, mostly about arsenic, which I was not interested in.
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  • Lauri Sim
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Thoroughly Enjoyable Journey into the Toxic Past
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    Love it- the perfect journey through poisonings, poisoners and the legislative attempts to stop them. A fascinating insight into how not only your gender but your class affected not only what poison you would choose but your motivation to do so, and how infanticide for profit differs from a struggling mother. The scientific portions are accessible and comprehensive, which can often be a challenge in books with this subject matter.
    A triumph of toxicology and history.
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  • pam parfitt
    5.0 out of 5 stars Book review
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 12, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Purchased for a Christmas present
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  • Charlie d
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant book Urge others to read it
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Brilliant book
    Urge others to read it.
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