54. Martha Brown - Domestic Violence

Lucy Worsley is back with a new series of Lady Killers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. This time Lucy heads to Dorset to explore the life of Martha Brown, a victim of domestic violence, accused of murdering her husband John in 1856. Martha’s story goes on to inspire Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles.

Martha initially claims John was kicked to death by his horse, but eventually confesses to his murder, revealing the long history of abuse she suffered at his hands. Will Martha’s confession win her a reprieve and save her from the gallows? With Lucy to find out more is the solicitor Harriet Wistrich, the founder of the Centre for Women’s Justice and the co-founder of the campaigning organisation Justice for Women. Harriet works on behalf of women who have murdered their partners after years of abuse. She is best known for leading Sally Challen’s successful 2019 appeal when her conviction for murdering her abusive husband was overturned. Lucy is also joined by historian Professor Rosalind Crone and together they visit Dorchester to see the courtroom where Martha Brown was tried for murder and the site of the former prison where she is held before her trial. Lucy wants to know what this case tells us about the lives of women experiencing domestic abuse in Victorian England and women in similar situations today. How much has the law changed since the 1850s concerning abused women who kill? And, if Martha Brown were on trial today, what might the outcome be? Producer: Jane Greenwood Readers: Clare Corbett, William Hope, Jonathan Keeble and Ruth Sillers Sound design: Chris Maclean Executive producer: Kirsty Hunter A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4

Det här avsnittet är hämtat från ett öppet RSS-flöde och publiceras inte av Podme. Det kan innehålla reklam.

Avsnitt(79)

Ladies in Court

Lucy Worsley presents – Lady on Trial, a series in which courtroom drama meets history with a twist.Lucy and her all-female team of detectives are re-opening court cases from the past - sensational t...

18 Aug 28min

Lucy Meares and Sophia Richards - Transported Sisters

Lucy Worsley presents a brand new series – Lady on Trial, where courtroom drama meets history...with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives are meeting women from the past hauled before t...

11 Aug 27min

Georgina Weldon - Wrongly Committed

In Lady on Trial, a brand new series for BBC Radio 4, Lucy Worsley and her all female team of detectives look at momentous legal struggles in history from a fresh and feminist perspective. This time, ...

4 Aug 28min

Connie Bolam - Conscientious Objector

Lucy Worsley is back with a new series where courtroom drama meets history…with a twist.In Lady on Trial we hear the voices of women from the past who ended up in court charged with everything from mu...

28 Juli 28min

Christabel Russell - Scandalous Divorce

21 Juli 28min

Trial by Media

Lucy Worsley continues the new series Lady on Trial, where courtroom drama meets history with a twist.Lucy and her team are meeting women who find themselves at the centre of extraordinary legal battl...

14 Juli 27min

Audrey Jacob - Murder on the Dancefloor

Lucy Worsley goes to a glittering ball in Western Australia to investigate the sensational case of Audrey Jacob. It’s the 1920s, the era of bobbed hair and daring hemlines, and a ball at the Governmen...

7 Juli 28min

Annie Kenney - Suffragette

Lucy Worsley is back with a new series of Lady on Trial, where courtroom drama meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to meet wo...

30 Juni 28min