Trials of Passion (58 page)

Mohr, James C,
Doctors and the Law
:
Medical Jurisprudence in Nineteenth-century America
(Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1993)

Motz, Anna,
The Psychology of Female Violence: Crimes Against the Body
(Hove: Brunner-Routledge, 2001)

Nesbit, Evelyn,
The Story of My Life
(London: John Long, 1914)

–
The Untold Story
(London: John Long, 1934)

Norrie, Alan W.,
Crime, Reason and History: A Critical Introduction to Criminal Law
(London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1993)

Pinta, Emil R.,
Paranoia of the Millionaire: Harry K. Thaw's 1907 Insanity Defence
(New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2010)

Schopp, Robert F., Richard L. Wiener, Brian H. Bornstein and Steven L. Willborn (eds),
Mental Disorder and Criminal Law: Responsibility, Punishment and Competence
(New York: Springer, 2009)

Seal, Lizzie,
Women, Murder and Femininity: Gender Representations of Women Who Kill
(Oxford: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010)

Shapiro, Ann-Louise,
Breaking the Codes: Female Criminality in Fin-de-siècle Paris,
(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996)

Smith, Roger,
Trial by Medicine: Insanity and Responsibility in Victorian Trials,
(Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1981)

Thaw, Harry K.,
The Traitor: Being the Untampered with, Unrevised Account of the Trial and All That Led to lt
(Philadelphia: Dorrance, 1926 )

Unsworth, Clive,
The Politics of Mental Health Legislation
(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1987)

Uruburu, Paula,
American Eve: Evelyn Nesbit, Stanford White, the Birth of the ‘It' Girl, and the Crime of the Century
(New York: Riverhead Books, 2008)

Ward, Tony, ‘Psychiatry and Criminal Responsibility in England 1843–1939', thesis, De Montfort University, Leicester, 1996 Welldon, Estela V.,
Mother, Madonna, Whore: The Ldealization and Denigration of Motherhood
(London: Karnac, 2004)

– and Cleo Van Velsen,
A Practical Guide to Forensic Psychotherapy
(London: Jessica Kingsley, 1997)

Wiener, Martin J.,
Men of Blood: Violence, Manliness and Criminal Justice in Victorian England
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004)

Acknowledgements

This book would not have been possible without the individual scholars who have come before me in the many fields this volume dips into: Joel Eigen, Gerald N. Grob, Ruth Harris, Allen Norrie, Roger Smith, Nikolas Rose, Tony Ward, Martin J. Wiener, to name but a few. For the case material and help provided, I thank the National Archives at Kew; Mark Stevens of the Berkshire Record Office which hosts the Broadmoor Archives and whose
Broadmoor Revealed
appeared while I was working on the latter parts of this book; the archivists who guided me through the dossiers of the Prefecture de Paris now held at the Archives de Paris; and the invaluable Kate Elms at the Brighton and Hove Archive. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the many psychiatrists, psychoanalysts and lawyers who have answered my questions along the way, amongst them Estela V. Welldon, Cleo Van Velsen, Frank Farnham, Michael Kopelman, Lisa Conlan, Faisil Sethi, Helena Kennedy and Martha Spurrier.

I am grateful to my editor, Lennie Goodings, and my agent, Clare Alexander, two formidable women, who between them steered me in the direction that eventually became this book. My thanks also to Victoria Pepe, to Zoe Gullen at Virago, and to my fine copy-editor, Sue Phillpott.

As ever, I am also indebted to my now husband John Forrester, who has more facts in his daily repertoire than I can dream of, and my wonderful children Katrina Forrester, Josh Appignanesi and now also Devorah Baum and Jamie Martin, with whom discussion is a constant inspiration.

Lisa Appignanesi was born in Poland, grew up in France and Canada, and lives in London. A novelist and writer, she is Visiting Professor of Literature and the Medical Humanities at King's College London, Chair of the Freud Museum, and former President of English PEN. She was awarded an OBE for services to literature in 2013. She is the author of
Mad, Bad and Sad
,
All About Love
and
Losing the Dead.

Index

Page numbers listed correspond to the print edition of this book. You can use your device's search function to locate particular terms in the text.

abortion, 62, 147, 171, 380

Evelyn Nesbit's appendicitis and, 290, 325, 343

Marie Bière case and, 146-7, 148, 164, 165, 166, 176, 177-8, 180, 186

Acadèmie des Sciences, 209

Acadèmie Franjaise, 163

Action Franf aise, 248

Acton, William, Functions and Disorders of the Reproductive Organs (1857), 50–1

adultery, 14, 60-1, 194, 200, 202-3, 306

in flagrante delicto exception and, 187

Henriette Caillaux case, 238–40, 245

Agadir crisis (1911), 238

Albanel, Louis, 244, 247

alcoholism, 167, 171, 249, 373

alienists
see
mind-doctors Althaus, Julius, 51–2, 55, 57–8

American Journal of Insanity, 367

American Medico-Legal Association, 312

American Medico-Psychological Association, 344-5

American Neurological Association, 310

American Psychiatric Association (APA), 307, 310, 312, 385

The Credo of Psychiatrists' concerning crime, 376-7, 378, 381

American Psychoanalytic Review, 311 ‘

American Renaissance' style in architecture, 256-7

Annales d'hygiène publique et de médecine légale (French journal), 170, 182–3

anorexia, 118, 183

anthropometric correlation, 220

Archives d'anthropologie criminelle, 217

Armstrong, Dr Henry, 45, 81

Arnold, Edward, 90–1, 97

arsenic, 14, 25-6, 27, 28, 33, 36, 39, 40, 74

Asile Sainte-Anne in Paris, 171, 233

Astor family, 256, 257, 286

asylums, 43-5, 46, 81, 83, 311, 320, 349

Bethlem Hospital, 4, 6, 83, 99

Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, 99, 117, 118, 120, 123, 125-33

closure of in 1970s and 1980s, 381

for the criminally insane, 92, 99, 117, 118, 120, 123, 125-33, 358-9, 360, 361, 363, 365, 366-7, 368, 369, 381

dementia praecox diagnoses, 332

growth of in nineteenth-century, 88, 101, 167, 308, 309

Matteawan State Hospital for the

criminally insane, 358-9, 360, 361, 363, 365, 366-7, 368, 369
Salpêtrière hospital in Paris, 55, 208-9, 214, 225, 226, 233

system in France, 170-1, 181-2

treatments at, 43, 83, 126-7, 181-2

Atlantic City, 372

Auclerc, Hubertine, 201

automatisms or altered states
see
hypnotic states

Bachelier, Le Prèsident, 175-7, 178, 179-80, 192

Baker, Dr, 366-7

Ballantine, William, 76-7, 78-9, 80, 86, 102-3

Ballet, Gilbert, 224, 226-7

Balzac, Honorè de, 139

Banaz A Love Story
(Deeyah, 2012), 385

Barker, Albert, 15, 22, 27, 36, 80

Barker, Sidney Albert, death of, 14, 26, 33-4, 76, 79, 80-1, 87, 95, 102

anonymous letters to father, 15, 22, 27, 36

Edmunds charged with murder, 32, 33, 35

inquest on, 15, 20, 21, 25, 29, 35, 36, 37-8, 104, 122

Barrès, Maurice, 215

Barrymore, John, 281-2, 289, 290, 352

Bashkirtseff, Marie, 262

Bataille, Albert, 174, 179, 185, 193, 214

Beale, Truxtun, 267-8

Bear, David, 389

Beard, Dr Charles Izard amorous letters from Edmunds to, 18, 19, 20-2, 25, 28, 35-8, 45, 57, 64, 79, 107, 122

attempts to cool relationship with Edmunds, 18, 19-20, 21-2, 26, 37

biographical details, 17, 54

death of (1916), 133

Edmunds' obsessive love for, 18-19, 35, 37, 53-4, 57, 59, 78-9, 103, 105-7, 110-11, 116-17, 122, 249, 387

as Edmunds' physician, 18, 57, 79, 110

informs his wife about the letters, 19, 21-2, 36-7

not mentioned in Gull and Orange report, 119

reports suspicions and letters to police, 16- 17, 22

as signatory to clemency petition, 123, 124

suspicion about September 1870 incident, 19, 20, 35, 36, 69, 102

testimony at hearings (August-September 1871), 25-6, 36-7

as witness at Old Bailey, 72, 80

Beard, Emily

deposition at hearing (18 August 1871), 25

Edmunds forces sweet into mouth of, 18-19, 20, 35, 36, 69, 74, 80, 95, 102, 106, 110, 122, 123, 382

as friend of Edmunds, 18, 21

knowledge of letters, 19, 21-2, 36-7

parcel received on 10 August by, 15, 16-17, 22, 28-9, 33

as signatory to clemency petition, 123, 124

Beck, Abram, 349

Beckwith, James Carroll, 273

Bellingham, John, 92-5, 97

Berkeley, University of California, 383-4, 385

Bernhardt, Sarah, 210

Bernheim, Hippolyte, 210-11, 216, 226, 228-30

Bethlem Hospital, London, 4, 6, 83, 99

Biarritz, 138, 141, 144

Bière, Juliette Claire (daughter of Marie), 150-2, 153, 154, 157, 165-6, 176-7, 184, 189

Bière, Madame (mother of Marie), 141, 144, 146, 150, 156, 158, 197

death of (1882), 198

state of mind of, 184, 185

Bière, Marie

abortion issue and, 146-7, 148, 164, 165, 166, 176, 177-8, 180, 186

acquittal verdict, 192-3

biographical details, 138, 140-1, 175, 183-4, 185-6

birth of daughter Juliette Claire, 150, 176, 178, 189

buys a revolver, 154, 157

character defence, 164-6, 179-80, 189, 190-2

childhood environment as factor, 185-6

confessional narrative, 145

as confirming to ideals of femininity, 379

continued hopes over Gentien, 148-50

criminal responsibility issue, 184-5

daughter's wet-nurse, 150, 151, 153, 178, 179

death of daughter Juliette Claire, 153, 154, 157, 165-6, 177, 178, 184, 186, 190

demands lump sum from Gentien, 156, 177

demeanour and appearance at trial, 174-5, 176-7, 190

deposition, 140, 145, 149, 150-1, 158, 159

despising of courtesans, 138-9, 140

family health history, 183-4, 185

Gentien's courtship of, 141-3, 175-6, 191

Gentien's paying of money to, 155-6, 157, 158.177.190

Gentien's uncle refuses visit from, 152, 198

grief and guilt over dead daughter, 153, 54, 157, 158, 177, 178, 382

ignorance of
homme flalant
code, 143-4, 387

investigating magistrate (Guillot), 142-3, 146.147, 152, 157, 159, 163-6, 180

journal of, 148-9, 152, 154, 155, 157, 158, 175, 177

letters to from Gentien, 141, 142, 145, 146, 147.148, 149, 150, 155

life after acquittal, 196-8

loss of singing voice, 145, 152

medico-legal experts, 181-8, 189

meets Robert Gentien, 138, 175-6

mother finds out about Gentien liaison, 144

move from Bordeaux to Paris, 141, 167

obsessional need for revenge, 156, 158, 184-5, 382-3

petty-bourgeois values of, 144, 180, 387

pregnancy, 145, 146-7, 148, 149, 164-5, 176

pre-trial inquiry (
instruction
), 141, 147, 164-6, 183, 190

propensity to ‘hysteria of the heart', 141

receives money from Gentien, 145, 179-80

on remand at Saint-Lazare, 159, 163-4, 183

restores relationship with mother, 146

sense of ‘specialness', 397

shooting of Robert Gentien, 137-8, 139, 158-9, 175, 189-90

singing career, 138, 145, 175, 197-8

stalks Gentien, 137, 157, 158, 175

threatened suicide scene, 154-5, 177

threats to life of Gentien, 177, 179

trial dossier, 142, 147, 159, 180

trial of (April 1880), 142-3, 144, 167-8, 174-80, 181-8, 189-93

tryst with Gentien (16 October 1877), 142, 143, 164, 176

unsent letter threatening suicide, 151

vows to kill Gentien, 157, 158, 177, 186

vows vengeance on Gentien, 153, 154

as well liked person, 138, 179-80, 189

Bière, Philippe (father of Marie), 140, 144, 152, 198

Bingamon, Charles F., 316

Binghampton State Hospital for the Insane, New York, 319

Black, Donald, 396

Black, William, 6

Blackstone, Sir William,
Commentaries on the Laws of England
(1765-9), 89, 90, 360-1

Blakely, David, 112, 379, 380

Blanche, Émile, 181, 182, 183-6

Blanche, Esprit, 181

Bleuler, Eugen, 309

Bobbit, Lorena, 5

Bompard, Gabrielle, 219-29, 230-1, 232

Bordeaux, 140-1, 144, 167

Boudesco, Constantin, 198

Boulanger, General Georges, 173, 207

Bourget, Paul, 214, 239

Bowater, Alexis, 395

Box Hill estate, Long Island, 257

Boys, Mr and Mrs, 15, 22

Braddon, Mary Elizabeth, 39

Lady Audley's Secret (1862), 74-5

Brady, Ian, 219, 360

Bravo, Charles, 62-3

Bravo, Florence, 61, 62-3

Briggs, Thomas, 77-8

Brighton, 13-14, 15-17, 18-22, 66, 74, 125, 133

courthouse, 27

nineteenth-century development of, 24

Prince of Wales and, 15, 24

signatories to clemency petition from, 124

Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, 99, 117, 118, 120, 123, 125-33

Brouardel, Paul, 224-5, 226, 230-1

Brougham, Henry, 94

Browne, Sir Thomas, 345

Bruce, Henry Austin (Home Secretary), 111-12, 116, 117-20, 123

Brudi, Paul, 262

Brussels, 145, 146, 165, 176, 179

Bureau of Crime Statistics, US, 392

Burghölzli hospital, Zurich, 309

Burns, Robert, ‘On the late Captain Grose's Peregrinations Thro' Scotland', 37-8, 45

Bush Sr, George, 388

Byron, Kitty, 249-50, 380

Bywaters, Frederick, 65

Caillaux, Henriette, 235, 237-41, 247-8, 251, 383, 387

sense of ‘specialness', 397

trial of (July 1914), 236, 241, 242, 243-7, 250