Martha Brown is one of the more famous people remembered in Dorset as she was mentioned by the author Thomas Hardy. Martha was executed in 1856, the last woman hanged in public in Dorset – and Thomas Hardy witnessed the execution.
This book is about Martha’s life and the murder of her second husband, John Brown. Nicola Thorne has pieced together the tiniest pieces of information she could find about Martha to show as fuller picture as possible. As Martha was born in relative obscurity, this is no mean feat. As a genealogist and family history researcher, I know full well how difficult that is – the poorer they were, the fewer marks they made on the world’s paperwork. So I think Nicola is to be praised for the time and effort it must have taken to discover Martha’s life in the world she lived.
Although I appreciate the all research undertaken, I feel that the book could have been better laid out to really understand the story – the main point being that the court case is in the appendix rather than in the main part of the book. The narrative of her life could also have been expanded, as less than half the book is devoted to her. Explanations about how the politics and economics back then affected her life and those close to her would have helped the reader visualise her life in the 19th century a bit better. But perhaps I’m nit-picking. It is still a very interesting story, and one that inspired Thomas Hardy when he wrote Tess of the d’Urbervilles.
The book can be purchased here.
This review was originally posted on Goodreads and Amazon.
Copyright © 2023 Charlotte Clark
Charlotte Clark 