An Authentic History of Maria Marten or Murder in the Red Barn!

Description

An Authentic History of MARIA MARTEN or

Murder in the Red Barn!

By Anon

Edited by Yvette Rougemont

Described by a contemporary magistrate as a case which ‘abounded with so many extraordinary incidents’, the murder of Maria Marten by her lover William Corder in May 1827, immediately caught the imagination of the public.  An Authentic History of Maria Marten; or The Red Barn! was a contemporary account of the tragic real-life events and this book is a transcription from an original anonymous Victorian book. It comprises descriptions of the discovery of the body through dreams, the inquest, apprehension and trial of Corder and his final conviction, execution and dissection. Also included are copies of the 53 letters written in reply to Corder’s advertisement for a wife, originally published by Foster of Leadenhall Street, and Charles Dickens’ 1867 account of the murder, taken from his All the Year Round publication as ‘Old Stories Retold‘.

The editor’s foreword presents an interesting ‘evolution of the Maria Marten story’, from its beginnings in early newspaper accounts, broadsheets, and sensational publications, through to the ballad singers, peepshows, and waxwork exhibitions of travelling fairs and on to the Victorian theatrical plays and melodramas, concluding with the reworked radio plays and cinema of the early twentieth century.

‘Corder’s Web‘ is a unique biographical presentation of many of the characters connected to the life and death of William Corder, and includes the continuing battles by his wife Mary Moore and their son John, with the authorities and public, together with the fascinating detective career of the Bow Street Runner, James Lea, who was instrumental in tracing and arresting Corder.

This paperback book is a faithful and accurate reprint of the original ‘anonymous’ nineteenth century publication and has been proofread so that it reads as smoothly as possible. It is not a scanned copy without corrections, unlike many disappointing modern reprints.

The Authentic History of Maria Marten is the first publication in a planned series of reprinted books by Stone Cross Reprints.

306 pages with 20 black and white illustrations.

Price – £10.00.