Love & Madness: The Murder of Martha Ray, Mistress of the Fourth Earl of Sandwich

While I'm not a fan of true crime, I do enjoy 18th-century British social history. I found plenty to like here. The book is rich in details, and therein lies its interest for me. For instance, the first chapter presents a vivid picture of the last night of Martha Ray's life. She went to the theatre and the reader goes along for the ride. We even see tufts of grass growing between paving stones. At the theatre, a bell signals the start of the performance. So on and so on. The book is full of these period details. The diet at Newgate, for those who couldn't afford to buy their own food, was a penny loaf. And "all prisons in England had a table of fees, and Newgate's was inscribed on a painted board hung up in the felons' court." Also, prisoners were charged three shillings as an entrance fee! (If a prisoner couldn't pay, was he turned away?) We're also given a detailed picture of the trial and the procession from Newgate to the place of execution. I could have done without the latter, but it belonged in the book. Overall, well done.

Martin Levy, a scholar of 18th century life, exhaustively covers the public murder of the mistress of Lord Sandwich by a clergyman and spurned lover. Although Levy's scholarship and research is everywhere evident, the writing is nowhere leaden or academic; he approaches his subject with the relish of a true-crime writer. In an age when criminal justice was in its infancy, the corpse of the slain woman was carried to the nearest alehouse and left there for all to see; her killer was brought to trial just nine days later. While the Rev. Hackman admitted he killed Martha Ray, he said he did it in a "momentary frenzy" and actually intended to kill only himself. The argument over why, if this was his intention, he brought two pistols to the scene of the crime is a fascinating one, and Levy offers arguments on both sides. The killing was a cause celebre in its time, and the latter half of this slim volume contains examples of the poems, broadsides, ballads and even a short novel published at the time. A remarkable achievement, and highly recommended.