42. Annie Gordon Baillie - Serial Swindler
Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley
BBC
4.7 • 908 Ratings
🗓️ 27 May 2025
⏱️ 30 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Lucy Worsley continues her new series of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history, with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to tail scammers, crooks, conwomen and convicts. Women from all walks of life, who find themselves on the wrong side of the law.
In this episode, Lucy is investigating Annie Gordon Baillie, a serial swindler who has over 40 aliases. She cons everyone from the milkman to government ministers.
She specialises in petty swindling but also concocts an elaborate scheme to help the crofting community on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. She promises to fund their cause, give them a voice and provide them with their own land, while pocketing any donations. With Lucy to explore Annie Gordon Baillie’s story is author Denise Mina, who writes historical fiction, crime fiction, and graphic novels. Lucy is also joined by historian Rosalind Crone, Professor of History at the Open University and Archivist Catherine MacPhee. Catherine paints a picture of what life was like for the crofters of Skye. Lucy and Ros visit Old Scotland Yard to find out more about a tenacious detective, Henry Marshall, who finally brings Annie to justice.
Lucy asks how did a poor, illiterate woman pass herself off as aristocracy and get away with swindling for so long? And shows that Annie’s charitable fundraising has a very dark side.
Producer: Julia Hayball Readers: Clare Corbett, Jonathan Keeble and Alex Phelps Sound design: Chris Maclean Executive producer: Kirsty Hunter
A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself. |
| 0:03.7 | My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a load of sport podcasts. |
| 0:08.4 | I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with leading journalists, experienced |
| 0:12.2 | pundits and the biggest sports stars. |
| 0:14.3 | Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights straight from the player's mouths. |
| 0:19.1 | But the best thing about doing this at the BBC is our unique access to the sporting world. What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that create a real connection to dedicated sports fans across the UK. So if you like this podcast, head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more. BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:40.7 | You're about to listen to a brand new series of |
| 0:43.0 | Lady Swindlers with Lucy Worsley. |
| 0:45.3 | New episodes will be released weekly wherever you get your podcasts, |
| 0:48.5 | but if you're in the UK, you can listen to the latest episodes |
| 0:51.3 | a week early, first on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:57.0 | Welcome to Lady Swindlers with me, Lucy Wersley, where true crime meets history with a twist. |
| 1:09.7 | Join us as we travel back in time and across the world, tailing scammers, crooks, con-women and convicts, women from all walks of life, who found themselves on the wrong side of the law. |
| 1:25.6 | What's their lives and their crimes tell us about women in the past, |
| 1:30.4 | and how different is it for women today? Our case today has everything you want from a |
| 1:37.0 | sensational Victorian melodrama. In fact, it has so many twists and turns that you might need |
| 1:43.2 | to grab a piece of paper and a pen and start making some notes. |
| 1:46.0 | Who is our serial swindler and star of our show? |
| 1:51.0 | I'll let her introduce herself. |
| 1:54.0 | I am Annie Newbond. |
| 1:56.0 | Anne Bruce Sutherland. |
| 1:58.0 | Annie Oglevy Bruce. |
... |
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