REVIEW: Did She Kill Him?

Did She Kill Him? A Torrid True Story of Adultery, Arsenic and Murder in Victorian England, by Kate Colquhoun

Crime attracts people whether it’s on television, in movies, mystery novels, or non-fiction books. Why do we like to read about it? Perhaps we want to look into the minds of criminals to find out why they commit heinous crimes.

Did She Kill Him?, a non-fiction book found in the true crime section, is about much more than a particular crime. Colquhoun includes information about medical practices and forensic science during the Victorian age. We also learn about the legal system, social customs and women’s rights.

Florence Chandler, a nineteen-year-old American, became the wife of forty-one-year old James Maybrick, a well-to-do cotton broker from Liverpool. They lived a lavish lifestyle well above their means, and the marriage became very troubled.

James was a hypochondriac who often self-medicated for his various ailments, often taking medicines containing arsenic. It was the practice during this time for arsenic to be added to many remedies, and some people even became addicted to arsenic. Was James Maybrick such a person, or did Florence murder him so she could be with her lover?

Would the outcome for Florence have been different if the social customs and the legal system had not been so strict and rigid during that period of history? If forensic science had been more accurate, would there have been more doubts about the cause of death? Florence’s story is one that will show how society can determine the destiny of a woman.

— Susan McSwain, Mount Pleasant Regional Library

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