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illegible, and attracted some caustic comments from the judge; but the vast majority of these postmarks were quite clearly struck. It transpired that when the police searched L'Angelier's room, many of Smith's letters were found without their envelopes and were then hurriedly collected and stuck into whichever envelopes came to hand.
164:
In the trial the two most positive elements in her defence were the two druggists both testifying that they coloured their arsenic to avoid accident (and the autopsy having not found this), and L'Angelier's valet testifying that L'Angelier had considered suicide at least once. There was therefore a
176:
Crucial to the case was the chronology of certain letters from Smith to L'Angelier, and as the letters themselves were undated, the case hinged to some extent on the envelopes. One letter in particular depended on the correct interpretation of the date of the postmark, which was unfortunately
122:
Smith attempted to break her connection with L'Angelier and, in
February 1857, asked him to return the letters she had written to him. Instead, L'Angelier threatened to use the letters to expose her and force her to marry him. She was soon observed in a druggist's office, ordering
252:
ran a small article stating that a witness had come forward claiming that a young male and female were seen outside Smith's house on the night of L'Angelier's death. However, the trial was already in progress, and the witness could not be questioned during it.
168:
Although the circumstantial evidence pointed towards her guilt (Smith had made purchases of arsenic in the weeks leading up to L'Angelier's death, and had a clear motive) the jury returned one verdict of not guilty on the first count and a verdict of
242:
Most modern scholars believe that Smith committed the crime and the only thing that saved her from a guilty verdict and a death sentence was that no eyewitness could prove that Smith and L'Angelier had met in the weeks before his death.
399:, gets away with murder. The film is not presently available due to a suit filed shortly after the film's release in 1932. The suit successfully claimed that the film script bears too close a resemblance to the script of the play,
108:
conventions of the time when, as a young woman in early 1855, she began a secret love affair with Pierre Emile L'Angelier, some ten years her senior, an apprentice nurseryman who originally came from the
116:
The pair would meet late at night, at Smith's bedroom window and also engaged in voluminous correspondence. During one of their infrequent meetings alone, she lost her virginity to L'Angelier.
119:
Smith's parents, unaware of the affair with L'Angelier (whom Smith had promised to marry), found a suitable fiancé for her within the
Glasgow upper-middle class, William Harper Minnoch.
89:, Glasgow, living in the lower half of a house owned by her maternal uncle, David Hamilton, a yarn merchant. The house stands at the crown of the major development led by
466:
The
Madeleine Smith case was partly dramatized with actors reading her letters and a draft of a letter by Pierre Emile L'Angelier on an episode of the 2022
220:
212:'s business manager. They had one son (Thomas, born 1864) and one daughter (Mary, called "Kitten", born 1863). For a time, she became involved with the
219:
After many years of marriage, she and her husband separated in 1889 and
Madeleine moved to New York City. Around 1916, she married a second time to
942:
137:
After his death, Madeleine Smith's numerous letters were found in the house where he lodged, and she was arrested and charged with his murder.
369:
TCM gives the date of the play as 1928; the
Internet Broadway Database has it opening on Broadway in 1930. In the early 1930s, MGM starred
452:(2008) includes Madeleine Smith, William Morris and George Wardle as peripheral characters, including a story of how Madeleine met George.
951:
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in London, and was an enthusiastic organiser. As she was known by her new married name, not everyone knew who she was, but a few did.
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157:, the future Lord Glencorse. Toxicological evidence, confirming that the victim had died of arsenic poisoning, was given by
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395:. This film closely follows Madeleine's story, except that Crawford's character is never charged and, in an example of
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78:(1808–1863) was a wealthy architect, and her mother, Elizabeth, was the daughter of leading neo-classical architect
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Following the scandal her family were forced to quit their
Glasgow home and their country villa Rowaleyn in
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355:(1875), though the only main similar features were the problem of the Scottish "Not Proven" verdict and
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had an episode "Dearest Pet" in the fifth series in 1996 that was a dramatisation of the Smith case;
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Early on the morning of 23 March 1857, L'Angelier died from arsenic poisoning. He is buried in the
455:
From 1976 to 1989 Madeleine Smith was one of the figures in the
Chamber of Horrors section in the
158:
498:"Dictionary of Scottish Architects - DSA Architect Biography Report (August 30, 2021, 2:09 am)"
19:
This article is about the socialite and alleged murderer. For other people with this name, see
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Hartman, M. S. (1979) "Murder for respectability : The case of
Madeleine Smith".
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Contemporary description of the accused; correspondence between her and the deceased
901:(2006) "A Treasury of Victorian Murder: The Case of Madeleine Smith". New York: NBM.
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The
Strange Affair of Madeleine Smith: Victorian Scotland's Trial of the Century
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Smith was the first child (of five) of an upper-middle-class family in
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who was the accused in a sensational murder trial in
Scotland in 1857.
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Murder and morality in Victorian Britain: The Story of Madeleine Smith
937:
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Richard Davenport-Hines, "Smith , Madeleine Hamilton (1835/6–1928)",
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43:
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Smith's story was the basis for several plays and the distinguished
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The building where Smith and her fiancé Minnoch each had apartments.
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The lives of Scottish women: women and Scottish society, 1800–1980
619:
Transcript of the Trial of Madeleine Smith, Scottish Court Records
572:"BBC Radio 4 - Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley, 2. Madeleine Smith"
330:(1961), which contains a section on Smith, formed the basis for a
82:. She was born at the family home 81 Wellington Place in Glasgow.
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television version in 1980. The Granada Television series
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On 4 July 1861, she married an artist named George Wardle,
862:
Murder in Victorian Scotland: The Trial of Madeleine Smith
331:
194:
97:, and they also had a country property, "Rowaleyn", near
708:
Dougald B. Maceachen, 'Wilkie Collins and British Law',
487:
597:
John Inglis, Lord Justice-General of Scotland: A Memoir
239:
have spent decades going over the details of the case.
915:, 16:4, 381–400. Publisher: Indiana University Press.
189:
6-7 Blythswood Square. Madeleine Smith's house. 2020.
39:(29 March 1835 – 12 April 1928) was a 19th-century
16:
Scottish socialite and alleged murderer (1835–1928)
957:Contemporary description of the accused; testimony
531:, by Graeme Smith, 2021, www.blythswoodsmith.co.uk
223:and this marriage lasted until his death in 1926.
938:A Most Curious Murder – The Madeleine Smith Story
201:in central Scotland. They moved again in 1860 to
968:
918:Morland, Nigel (US: 1988) "That Nice Miss Smith"
149:A sketch of the trial proceedings against Smith.
85:In 1855 the family moved from India Street to 7
283:. Todd had previously played Smith in the 1944
800:"BBC Radio 4 - Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley"
541:Dictionary of Scottish Architects: James Smith
405:adapted into a film of the same name starring
727:"Dishonored Lady – Broadway Play – Original"
904:Gordon, Eleanor & Nair, Gwyneth (2009)
712:, Vol. 5, No. 2 (Sep. 1950), pp. 135–138 (
415:The case was again dramatized in 1952 for
908:. Manchester: Manchester University Press
153:At trial, Smith was defended by advocate
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677:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
428:Other novels based on the case include
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444:(1976) by Mary Ann Ashe (pseudonym of
127:, which she signed for as M.H. Smith.
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777:"The Black Museum – Single Episodes"
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818:Rewriting The Madeleine Smith Story
789:Edinburgh Wax Museum Guidebook 1989
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13:
1027:1857 murders in the United Kingdom
1017:British people acquitted of murder
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519:Glasgow Post Office directory 1855
510:Glasgow Post Office Directory 1835
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881:. Edinburgh: W. & R. Chambers
432:(1920) by William Darling Lyell,
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680:, Oxford University Press, 2004
430:The House in Queen Anne's Square
425:titled "The Small White Boxes".
345:The case was an inspiration for
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320:, broadcast on 13 August 1958.
21:Madeline Smith (disambiguation)
992:People associated with Glasgow
952:Madeleine Wardle in later life
926:https://blythswoodsmith.co.uk/
714:University of California Press
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306:: The Trial Of Madeleine Smith
165:strong suggestion of suicide.
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1022:Members of the Fabian Society
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393:Marie Adelaide Belloc Lowndes
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134:on Ingram Street in Glasgow.
49:
387:, which was based on a 1931
365:portrayed Smith in the play
7:
628:Madeleine: 1950. David Lean
336:In Suspicious Circumstances
66:L'Angelier's rooming house.
10:
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816:Campbell, Jimmy Powdrell.
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710:Nineteenth-Century Fiction
648:Edinburgh University Press
442:Alas, for Her That Met Me!
18:
943:The Madeleine Smith Story
849:. (Mercat Press, 2007).
830:Diamond, Michael (2003)
140:
37:Madeleine Hamilton Smith
609:Andrew Douglas Maclagan
546:15 October 2008 at the
389:novel of the same title
359:as a means for murder.
312:, was also produced by
235:, scholars and amateur
173:" on the second count.
159:Andrew Douglas Maclagan
104:Smith broke the strict
924:by Graeme Smith, 2021
682:accessed 11 April 2008
638:Knox, William (2006).
403:In 1947, the play was
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879:Square Mile of Murder
698:Square Mile of Murder
327:Square Mile of Murder
301:based upon the case,
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922:Glasgow's Blythswood
529:Glasgow's Blythswood
457:Edinburgh Wax Museum
352:The Law and the Lady
997:Scottish socialites
860:MacGowan, Douglas.
845:MacGowan, Douglas.
832:Victorian Sensation
448:). Alanna Knight's
316:television station
290:The Rest is Silence
1007:Trials in Scotland
1002:Murder in Scotland
842:. pp. 172–176
595:James Crabb Watt,
450:Murder in Paradise
397:pre-code Hollywood
304:Killer in Close-Up
231:As in the case of
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913:Victorian Studies
826:978-0-7524-4008-8
446:Christianna Brand
434:Lovers All Untrue
419:in an episode of
381:in a film called
379:Robert Montgomery
363:Katherine Cornell
357:arsenic poisoning
271:(1950), starring
246:After the trial,
221:William A. Sheehy
132:Ramshorn Cemetery
87:Blythswood Square
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982:1857 in Scotland
884:Mackay, James.
834:London: Anthem.
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899:Geary, Rick
875:House, Jack
756:www.tcm.com
752:"Madeleine"
438:Norah Lofts
408:Hedy Lamarr
375:Nils Asther
203:Old Polmont
155:John Inglis
99:Helensburgh
76:James Smith
971:Categories
761:4 December
736:4 December
650:. p.
481:References
461:Royal Mile
436:(1970) by
322:Jack House
277:Ivan Desny
263:David Lean
181:Later life
171:not proven
50:Background
864:. (1999)
468:BBC Radio
268:Madeleine
106:Victorian
44:socialite
544:Archived
349:' novel
324:'s book
285:West End
273:Ann Todd
945:at the
877:(1961)
820:. 2007
811:Sources
459:on the
125:arsenic
72:Glasgow
41:Glasgow
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440:, and
314:Sydney
581:4 May
318:ABN-2
287:play
265:film
141:Trial
866:ISBN
851:ISBN
836:ISBN
822:ISBN
763:2021
738:2021
656:ISBN
583:2022
377:and
297:. A
279:and
576:BBC
391:by
332:BBC
293:by
195:Rhu
93:on
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