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BBC Radio 4

Lucy Worsley investigates the crimes of Victorian women from a contemporary, feminist perspective.

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley

In the final episode of the series, Lucy Worsley puts true crime itself on trial. Why are we so fascinated by stories of murder, violence, and scandal and was it ever thus? Is true crime guilty of sensationalism and stereotyping, or can it reveal something more profound about society, culture, and ourselves?

Lucy is joined by her all-female team of detectives, in-house historian Professor Rosalind Crone and guest detective Hannah Maguire, co-host of the hit podcast RedHanded. Together they examine the long history of true crime as entertainment, asking whether today’s podcasts, documentaries, and social media sleuthing are really so different from the pamphlets, broadsides, waxworks, and tabloid stories of the past.

The episode revisits three notorious cases. Martha Brown, executed in 1856 for killing her abusive husband, whose fate drew public sympathy and inspired Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Mary Pearcy, convicted in 1890 of the brutal murder of her lover’s wife and baby, whose trial and execution became a Victorian media sensation. And Elvira Barney, the glamorous socialite who in 1932 shot her lover and walked free, the tabloids feasting on every detail of her privileged world.

Through these stories, Lucy, Ros and Hannah explore how women have been represented in true crime narratives, and how gendered assumptions about violence and morality have shaped the way female offenders are portrayed. They also consider why audiences, past and present, are drawn to these tales, and whether our hunger for crime stories reflects fear, fascination, or the thrill of playing detective from the safety of our own homes.

Producer: Riham Moussa
Readers: Clare Corbett, Moya Angela, Jonathan Keeble and Ruth Sillers
Sound Design: Chris Maclean
Executive Producer: Kirsty Hunter

A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4.

60. True Crime on Trial

Lucy Worsley meets Kitty Newton, a daughter accused of killing her very own mother. With her team of all female detectives, Lucy uncovers long buried secrets in the Newton family - but could these truly be the motive for such a terrible crime? 

Would a daughter really kill her very own mother? If so, why? 

It is 1848, in the chill depths of winter. In the early hours of the morning a servant, Mary Corfield, stumbles upon a grisly discovery - the lifeless, charred body of an elderly lady, Ann Newton. At first sight the death looks suspicious, and the woman’s daughter, Kitty Newton, is arrested on the spot. 

In this episode, historian Professor Rosalind Crone heads to the market town of Bridgnorth in Shropshire to visit the scene of the alleged crime. She also goes to Bridgnorth Town Hall where an inquest into the death of Ann Newton took place.

Back in the studio, Lucy is joined by crime writer Dorothy Koomson, author of The Ice Cream Girls and All My Lies are True. She’s known for her sharp insights into the tangled dynamics between mothers and daughters, vital skills to help examine this sinister case. 

Together, Lucy, Ros and Dorothy piece together the clues and the possible means, motive and opportunity. 

Was the fire that killed Ann Newton a terrible accident or was it set by her daughter? 

Producer: Emily Hughes 
Readers: Clare Corbett, Jonathan Keeble, Ruth Sillers and Bill Hope 
Sound Design: Chris Maclean
Executive Producer: Kirsty Hunter 

A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4

59. Kitty Newton - Killer Daughter

Join Lucy Worsley and her all-female team as she delves into the Hampstead Tragedy, one of the most notorious murder cases of the Victorian era. 

When the horrifically mutilated body of a young mother called Phoebe Hogg is found dumped by the side of a street in north London in October 1890, the press erupts into a frenzy of speculation that Jack the Ripper has struck again. 

But it soon becomes clear to the police that the suspected killer is not a man, but a young woman called Mary Pearcey, a friend of Phoebe’s. This is when forensic science is in its infancy, but it is already featuring in the first Sherlock Holmes stories, and the public is gripped by this case.
 
Lucy is joined by one of the UK’s leading forensic scientists, Dr Angela Gallop CBE, to find out what light modern forensic techniques can shine on this case. They discuss how forensic science and true crime have captured the public imagination, and the pressure on forensic scientists working on high profile cases today from the press and the public.
 
Lucy is also joined by historian Professor Rosalind Crone as they visit the street in north London where Phoebe Hogg’s body was discovered. They discuss the media frenzy around the case, including the ‘Hampstead Tragedy’ exhibit at Madam Tussauds which broke all visitor records.
 
Lucy wants to know what this story tells us about the public’s passion for forensic science and true crime in 1890s Britain - and our passion for them today. And has the notoriety of this particular case distorted our view of women who kill?
 
Producer: Jane Greenwood
Readers: Clare Corbett, William Hope, Jonathan Keeble and Ruth Sillers
Sound design: Chris Maclean
Executive producer: Kirsty Hunter
 
A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4

58. Mary Pearcey - Murderous Lover

Lucy Worsley meets Jessie McLachlan, a woman accused of murdering one of her friends in Glasgow in 1862. There’s no obvious motive, but if she didn’t do it, who did?

To investigate this infamous case, Lucy is joined by stellar barrister Jennifer Robinson, co-author of Silenced Women: Why the Law Fails Women and How to Fight Back, who has represented actor Amber Heard and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, working on cases that span media, public and international law. 

The victim in this distressing story is a live-in domestic servant, who works for three generations of men in a respectable Glaswegian home. When her mutilated body is found in a locked room, the police are quick to arrest her elderly employer, the most obvious suspect. However, blame soon shifts to Jessie McLachlan, once a servant in the same house, who maintains her innocence throughout. Who will the jury believe? Will Jessie ever get to tell her side of the story? Even if she does, will anyone bother to listen?

Together, Lucy and Jennifer discuss the difficulties women still face in speaking out about their experiences of gender-based violence and how the law is often weaponised against them. They are joined by in-house historian Professor Rosalind Crone from The Open University to look at the role of the media in this case. They discover that today, media coverage continues to have a powerful impact, either in entrenching negative stereotypes or, more hopefully, shining a light on women’s stories and bringing perpetrators to justice.

With thanks to Glasgow Police Museum for assistance with research.

Producer: Sarah Goodman
Readers: Clare Corbett, Bill Hope, Jonathan Keeble and Ruth Sillers
Sound design: Chris Maclean
Executive producer: Kirsty Hunter 

A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4

57. Jessie McLachlan - Silenced Servant

This time, Lucy is exploring the story of Elvira Barney, a rich socialite in 1930s London, living a life of fast cars, cocktail parties and nightclubs. When her boyfriend Michael dies of a gunshot wound during a drunken row with Elvira, she finds herself in the dock at the Old Bailey, accused of his murder. Can her barrister convince the court it was a tragic accident?
 
With Lucy to find out more about the case of Elvira Barney is the journalist and novelist Rachel Johnson. Together they explore Elvira’s drug and drink-fuelled lifestyle and discover how this case gave ordinary people struggling with the economic depression of the 1930s an insight into the lives of the richest and most
privileged in society.
 
Lucy is also joined by historian Professor Rosalind Crone as they visit the Knightsbridge Mews where Elvira lived with Michael to find out more about her racy party-going set known as ‘the Bright Young Things’.

It was the scene of the fateful shooting and epicentre of the police investigation.

Next they head to nearby Belgrave Square where Elvira’s extremely wealthy parents lived.

Lucy wants to know what Elvira’s story can tell us about the lives of women across the class divide in the mid 20th century. And how might Elvira’s story play out differently today? 

For further reading see Thomas Grant: Court No. 1 The Old Bailey, Chapter 4.
 
Producer: Jane Greenwood
Readers: Clare Corbett, William Hope, Jonathan Keeble and Ruth Sillers
Sound design: Chris Maclean
Executive producer: Kirsty Hunter
 
A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4

56. Elvira Barney - Accidental Killer

Lucy Worsley looks at the crimes of women from the 19th and early 20th centuries from a contemporary, feminist perspective.

In this episode, we hear the story of Cloe, a black enslaved teenager who lives with the Carothers family, Andrew, Mary and their 11 children, on their farm in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.

Cloe is worked to the bone, constantly beaten by her mistress and sneaked on by the children. Over the course of a week, she drowns two of the family’s youngest children, Lucetta and Polly. 

Were Cloe’s actions those of a cold-blooded killer or an act of desperate resistance against brutal oppression? We get to hear Cloe’s motives in her own words - that she wants to heap misery on her mistress so the beatings will stop.

Lucy is joined by Dr Nikki M Taylor, Professor of African American History at Howard University in Washington DC and the author of Brooding Over Bloody Revenge: Enslaved Women’s Lethal Resistance.

Nikki travels to Simmons Creek, the site of the murders and visits the Cumberland Historical Society to find out more about Cloe’s fate.

Back in the studio, Nikki challenges the idea that enslaved women only took part in secret, non-violent forms of resistance, when they often seized justice for themselves. Cloe’s story opens a window into the lives and philosophies of enslaved women who have their own ideas about justice and how to achieve it.

Justice and humanity is denied to Cloe, but is this still happening today? And are black women still being treated unfairly by the American justice system?

Producer: Julia Hayball
Readers: Moya Angela and Ruth Sillers
Sound design: Chris Maclean
Executive Producer: Kirsty Hunter
 
A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4

55. Cloe - Forced Resistance

Lucy Worsley is back with a new series of Lady Killers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. 
 
This time Lucy heads to Dorset to explore the life of Martha Brown, a victim of domestic violence, accused of murdering her husband John in 1856. Martha’s story goes on to inspire Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles. 

Martha initially claims John was kicked to death by his horse, but eventually confesses to his murder, revealing the long history of abuse she suffered at his hands. Will Martha’s confession win her a reprieve and save her from the gallows?
 
With Lucy to find out more is the solicitor Harriet Wistrich, the founder of the Centre for Women’s Justice and the co-founder of the campaigning organisation Justice for Women. Harriet works on behalf of women who have murdered their partners after years of abuse. She is best known for leading Sally Challen’s successful 2019 appeal when her conviction for murdering her abusive husband was overturned. 
 
Lucy is also joined by historian Professor Rosalind Crone and together they visit Dorchester to see the courtroom where Martha Brown was tried for murder and the site of the former prison where she is held before her trial.
 
Lucy wants to know what this case tells us about the lives of women experiencing domestic abuse in Victorian England and women in similar situations today. How much has the law changed since the 1850s concerning abused women who kill? And, if Martha Brown were on trial today, what might the outcome be?
 
Producer: Jane Greenwood
Readers: Clare Corbett, William Hope, Jonathan Keeble and Ruth Sillers
Sound design: Chris Maclean
Executive producer: Kirsty Hunter
 
A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4

54. Martha Brown - Domestic Violence

Lucy Worsley is back with a new series of Lady Killers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. 
 
In this episode, Lucy travels back to 1831 to Aldgate, then a poor part of East London, to investigate Elizabeth Cook, an Irish woman with a dark criminal background. When Elizabeth’s new lodger, an elderly peddler called Caroline Walsh, goes missing with no sign of her body, suspicions are high. When Elizabeth is discovered selling Caroline’s clothes, she is accused of her murder by her own son in court.
 
With Lucy to find out more about the case of Elizabeth Cook is Jaswant Narwal, the Chief Crown Prosecutor for London North, and the person who would prosecute this case if it came to court today. Jaswant shares her 35 years of experience prosecuting homicides, including ‘no body’ cases. 
 
Lucy is also joined by historian Professor Rosalind Crone and they visit Aldgate to find out more about Elizabeth Cook and Caroline Walsh. They also go to the site of the Royal London Hospital to discuss the grisly fate of many of London’s missing persons in the early 19th century.
 
Lucy wants to know what this case tells us about the lives of poor women in London in the 1830s. Can someone today be accused of murder if there is no body? Would Elizabeth Cook’s case go to court today and, if it did, what might the outcome be?
 
Producer: Jane Greenwood
Readers: Clare Corbett, Jonathan Keeble and Ruth Sillers
Sound design: Chris Maclean
Executive producer: Kirsty Hunter
 
A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4

53. Elizabeth Cook - Body Snatcher

Lucy Worsley is back with a brand new series of Lady Killers. Lucy and her team of all female detectives re-visit the unthinkable crimes, committed by murderesses, more than a hundred years ago. 

In this episode, Lucy looks at a case with a difference. It’s true crime meets family history - with a twist. The team receives an email from Lady Killers listener, Charlotte Godfrey, who says she has a Victorian Lady Killer in her family. Charlotte wants to find out more about her Great Great Aunt’s role in The Chertsey Murder.

It’s a tragic tale involving murder and suicide. On 16th May 1894, 18 year-old Amelia Haslett poisons her 9 year-old sister Daisy and then kills herself. What were the circumstances that led to this unimaginable crime?

Lucy brings in Lady Killers’ in-house historian Professor Rosalind Crone to help get to the bottom of this dark family secret. 

Ros meets Charlotte at the scene of the crime in Addlestone, Surrey and visits the church where her relatives are buried.

Back in the studio Lucy, Ros and Charlotte are joined by Dr Gwen Adshead who, for many years, was a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist at Broadmoor Hospital.

Can they answer Charlotte’s questions – why did Amelia do it and what may have been happening with her mental health.
 
Producer: Julia Hayball
Readers: Clare Corbett, Ruth Sillers, Jonathan Keeble and Bill Hope
Sound design: Chris Maclean
Executive Producer: Kirsty Hunter
 
A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4

52. Amelia Haslett - Lady Killer in My Family

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley - the stories of women who kill - is back for a brand new series. 

This first episode is recorded in front of a live audience at the Hay Festival in 2025, with special guest Sarah Waters (bestselling author of Tipping the Velvet and Fingersmith) and in-house historian Professor Rosalind Crone. The team discovers which of our infamous lady killers inspired great writers to immortalise them in print. 

They explore the lives of women like Edith Thompson, accused of killing her husband, although she never laid a finger on him. Edith captured Sarah Waters' imagination while researching her romantic thriller The Paying Guests, which is set - just like Edith’s story - in socially turbulent 1920s suburbia. 

Then there’s Maria Manning, who was reincarnated as an ‘imperfectly tamed’ French maid Hortense by Charles Dickens in his proto-detective story, Bleak House.

And Margaret Garner, an enslaved woman on the run, who inspired Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, Beloved. 

With the usual mix of curiosity, insight and hilarity, Lucy and the team ask what makes these particular women so compelling. Can historical fiction actually communicate more than factual history? What makes for a good baddie? 

Featuring live readings from actor Clare Corbett and pre-recorded reconstructions, Lady Killers: Murder by the Book brings a contemporary feminist perspective to crime as it happened and as it’s reimagined on the page.

Recorded live at the Hay Festival 2025.

Producer: Sarah Goodman
Assistant Producers: Riham Moussa, Mikaela Carmichael
Readers: Clare Corbett and Moya Angela
Sound Design: Chris Maclean
Executive Producer: Kirsty Hunter

A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4.

59. Kitty Newton - Killer Daughter

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