About this episode

The episode explores the trial of Florence Maybrick, an American woman accused of murdering her husband in Victorian England, and the societal implications of her case.

August 7, 1889. In Liverpool's St. George's Hall, an American woman named Florence Maybrick stands behind iron bars, dressed in mourning black… for the husband she's accused of murdering. The evidence against her is thin: James Maybrick was a longtime arsenic addict who bought the poison daily, and none was found in his stomach when he died. But Florence had committed another kind of crime in the eyes of Victorian society. She'd had an affair. And to many, that moral transgression was proof enough of murder. How did a 17-year-old American socialite end up married to a secret addict, and then put on trial for her life? How did her case ignite protests, half a million petition signatures, and the fury of Queen Victoria herself? And how did one wronged woman help change England's system of justice forever? Special thanks to our guest, Rick Hutto, attorney and author of A Poisoned Life: Florence Chandler Maybrick, the First American Woman Sentenced to Death in England ; and to Andrea Hastings-Arroyo, graduate student and library specialist at the University of Wyoming, who helped with our research. You can find all the books we’ve used to make recent HISTORY This Week episodes at…

People in this episode

Guest: Rick Hutto

Topics covered

• murder trial
• Victorian society
• arsenic poisoning
• affair
• justice system
• women's rights

Keywords

• Florence Maybrick
• James Maybrick
• murder trial
• arsenic
• Victorian society
• Queen Victoria
• justice system
• affair

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Wyoming, HISTORY® Channel

Books & works: A Poisoned Life: Florence Chandler Maybrick, the First American Woman Sentenced to Death in England

Places: Liverpool

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