Edith Thompson

Shedunnit

Caroline Crampton

Arts, Books

4.9 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 9 January 2019

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On the morning of 9 January 1923, a brutal and horrifying execution took place at Holloway Prison in London. The condemned young woman screamed and cried, but no last minute reprieve arrived. Long after she was dead, her story would inspire authors like James Joyce, E.M. Delafield, Dorothy L. Sayers and Sarah Waters, and you can find traces of it in many detective novels published in the decades since. This is the story of Edith Thompson. Find more information about this episode and links to the books discussed at shedunnitshow.com/ediththompson. The podcast is on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and Instagram as @ShedunnitShow, and you can find it in all major podcast apps. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss the next episode. Click here to do that now in your app of choice. Books mentioned in order of appearance: —Bella Donna by Robert Hichens —Criminal Justice: The True Story of Edith Thompson by Rene Weis —Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen —The Golden Age of Murder by Martin Edwards —Messalina of the Suburbs by E.M. Delafield —The Diary of a Provincial Lady by E. M. Delafield —As for the Woman by Francis Iles (aka Anthony Berkeley) —The Anatomy of Murder by the Detection Club —The Documents in the Case by Dorothy L. Sayers and Robert Eustace —Crooked House by Agatha Christie —Before the Fact by Francis Iles (aka Anthony Berkeley) —A Pin to See the Peepshow by Fryn Tennyson Jesse —The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters Find a full transcript of this episode at shedunnitshow.com/ediththompsontranscript NB: Links to Blackwell’s are affiliate links, meaning that the podcast receives a small commission when you purchase a book there (the price remains the same for you). Blackwell’s is a UK independent bookselling chain that ships internationally at no extra charge. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	This episode is brought to you by Pepsi Max. Christmas is great, but there's loads of ways to make it better.
0:08.0	Like sneaking some chili into the gravy for some extra oint, or building a playlist that will even get your
0:14.8	none up on the table or just cracking open an ice cold Pepsi Max.
0:20.1	Christmas.
0:23.0	Better with Pepsi Max.
0:34.4	On the morning of 9th of January, 1923, a brutal and horrifying execution took place at Holloway Prison in London.
0:40.6	The condemned young woman screamed and cried, but no last minute reprieve arrived.
0:47.4	Just before 9 a.m. her jailers injected her with a sedative and then offered her brandy as well to calm her nerves. It still took four people to drag her out to the
0:57.7	brick shed where her end awaited. She was strapped into a bosun's chair. A white hood was put over her head and a noose around her neck.
1:10.0	She was barely conscious when at the stroke of nine the trapdoor opened and she fell to her death.
1:18.0	At exactly the same time in a different prison a mile away, the man she loved fell also.
1:28.0	She was buried in the prison grounds, and for decades her family begged in vain to be told where her grave was located.
1:36.0	Hers had been a life of passion and fantasy, a whirlwind of imagination she created to escape a humdrum suburban existence.
1:45.2	Her lover always maintained that the murder they were hanged for was his idea alone,
1:49.7	but she was convicted by a jury immersed in the strict moral code of a bygone era that saw
1:55.4	her frankness, love of romance, and enjoyment of sex as proof of guilt enough.
2:01.2	Long after she was dead, her story would inspire authors like James Joyce,
2:05.8	E. M. Delafield, Dorothy L. Sayers, Sarah Waters, and more.
2:10.3	You can find traces of it in many detective novels published in the decade since.
2:15.0	This is the story of Edith Thompson.
2:28.0	Welcome to She Dunnet. I'm Caroline Crampton. It's not hard to see why the life and death of Edith Thompson proved so captivating for crime writers and the general public alike.
2:47.0	It reads like a ready-made morality tale or an inverted fairy story in which the heroine finds her prince only for her happily ever
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Caroline Crampton, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Caroline Crampton and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.