Late on the evening of the 29th of January, 1753, a young maid servant walked back into

her family home in East London. She had no shoes or luggage with her, and her hands

and feet were filthy, as was the underdress and petticoat she was wearing. A dirty, blood-soaked

rag was tied around her head. She had been missing for almost a month. Her family, employer

and neighbours had searched for her thoroughly, even advertising in the newspapers for information

about her whereabouts, but no clues had emerged. Elizabeth Canning had disappeared as suddenly

and completely as she reappeared that cold winter's night. She was weak, wounded and overwhelmed.

Gradually, a story emerged. She had been attacked on her way home from her aunt's house,

she said, and then held captive in an attic by two women, who cut off her corset, fed her

only bread and water, and refused to let her leave. She eventually escaped by pulling

boards off a window, climbing out and walking for five hours until she reached home. A neighbour

thought her description of the attic sounded like a house he knew about ten miles away,

and thus a chain of events was set in motion that resulted in one of 18th century England's

most notorious trials, an old-fashioned media sensation, and eventually a brilliant and

creepy 20th century crime novel. Today, we're looking at the kidnap of Elizabeth Canning

and everything that came after. Welcome to She Done It. I'm Caroline Crampton.

Before we get into this episode properly, there's something I need to tell you about. This

marks the beginning of the 2022 She Done It pledge drive, and the aim is to add 100 new

members to the podcast's membership scheme, the She Done It book club, between now and

the end of the year. And there's a special gift just for those who join during this time,

the She Done It guide to Golden Age detective fiction. This is a little pamphlet that I've

put together that will hopefully help readers who want to broaden their mystery reading,

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