Death By Chocolate: Madeleine Smith, 1857 by Mark John Maguire
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ส.ค. 2024
- In 1857 a young Scottish woman walked free after her lover was poisoned by arsenic. Almost everyone thought she was guilty - including the jury - who returned a uniquely Scottish verdict of "Not Proven" in preference to Guilty of Not Guilty. Her Defence Barrister, when asked after the trial whether he thought she was really innocent, famously replied: "I would rather have danced with her than supped with her."
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Cannot get over how well written, narrated and produced these pieces are. Well done Mr Maguire!
Thank you very much, Harry! :) You are very kind to say so!
Your writing ability is incredible, I'm in awe. I felt myself transported to the Victorian times. I hope your channel explodes in popularity, as it is well-deserved!
Well said, and true! I'm subscribing right now.
Maddening
@@dancingfirefly7761 I just discovered this channel and I’m totally hooked. Cheers.
In Memphis, Tennessee, right now, we are having huge rain, lightning, and thunderstorms. I have two jack Russell terrier‘s shaking, and one Irish Wolfhound who is also shaking, all three jammed up next to me. The only thing that is calming them down is your wonderful voice! I adore your stories and your fabulous voice has a tremendous calming affect on animals and for that I am very grateful 😁😁😁
Thank you, MB! We are having much stormy weather here in the UK also, but not the thunder and lightning - take care!
Lol. Hello TN from TX
diana d
Hi TN, from TN!
And in Virginia right now we have a large thunderstorm. My greyhound mix is shaking and trying to burrow under me. I gave her a double dose of her Valium and am listening to his calm voice, but alas, it’s not working. I have doggy pot pills I could give her, I wonder if I should take them instead.
Elli Cooper I feel your pain‼️😂😁🤣
I think the fix was on. The judges must have read the diary and realized that it would convict Madeleine if entered into evidence so they excluded it.
Her family was highly esteemed and who knows what connections they had with the judges?
Another great video.
Nothing new under the sun. ❤
@@aprilcervantes7784 As corrupt as they always have been.
exactly
typical, some things never change
I am Scottish and live in Glasgow but this is the first time I have heard of this story. Fascinating indeed! I did have a wee giggle at your pronunciation of “Sauchiehall Street” . Many thanks for making these videos and for sharing your incredibly soothing voice. 😘
Thank you very much, Anna! I'm guessing my pronunciation of "Sauchiehall street" wasn't up to much?! I recall when I spoke it I wasn't sure whether it was soshihall or souchiehall or sorchiehall etc! When I came to pronounce it I almost tried to mumble it! Which is it, as a matter of interest?
They Got Away With Murder It is a tricky word to pronounce,if you are not familiar with it. It is pronounced Sau-kie-hall st. It is a hard “c” not a soft “c”. 😁It probably was a bit unfair of me to say that I laughed at your pronounciation. 😘
@@annamaciver9889 No, not at all - it made me laugh when I read it! I never even suspected a hard "c"! Now I know! :)
They Got Away With Murder 😄
I think her old family home is now called "Madeleine Smith House" and is occupied by a firm of lawyers.
It was a bitter, bitter irony that neither of Madeleine’s sisters married because of the shame Madeleine brought on the family, but she herself married twice.
I love these, and the narrator has a wonderfully measured way of speaking with an excellent tone and diction which makes listening really enjoyable. Thank you so much 😊
Glad you like them, Sophie - thank you!
I agree what an amazing voice it is so much better than most to todays so called movie stars.
I'm really hooked on these now! I dont know how the first one popped up on my youtube! I'm so glad it did, thankyou!
Thank you, Susan - I'm glad you like them!
Me too! 👍🏼😊
Me too!
Exactly the same here 😃❤️
Me too 🏝
This relationship was toxic long before the Arsenic came into the equation.
She was willful and emotionally manipulative as well as careless. He was stubborn, calculating and vindictive.
They deliberately deceived the people closest to them and embarked on an affair that was utterly unacceptable to the society of the day leaving Madeline with everything to lose from the situation.
The fact that it more than likely ended in extortion and murder doesn't really come as a surprise.
Love is a biochemically induced form of insanity, and when she entered the relationship her young brain wasn’t yet fully developed in the areas utilised for understanding long term consequences of actions.
I really love your first sentence, it sums up the case so well!
Once again excellently narrated and written and so imformative so well researched
Glad you enjoyed it
I listen to your series in the evening my eyes close with my earbud.... I was wandering if the production of this series was done by only you, the writing, and illustrations are formidable, every episode is perfectly narrated, the writing keeps one hooked to the next sentence, and the illustration must have demand long hours of research, If you ever publish, I would love to own them as I am in favors of books and classic writing. Thank you very much for sharing your gift of story telling with us.
Thank you very much - yes, indeed - I am a one-man band!
@@TheyGotAwayWithMurder Honestly, that is amazing! I stumbled upon your channel a few days ago and love listening to your stories. You have a very nice narrating voice, so now you keep me company in the evenings ^-^
You are extremely talented and found a way to share that talent with the world. Thank you
@@TheyGotAwayWithMurder your voice is beautiful
@@melaniefagan7632 You're very kind to say so!
Your videos are by far my favorite on TH-cam. They are beautifully narrated with wonderful photos. Thank you, and please keep at it. I have watched all of them several times.
Thank you Dina - I am delighted you thought so highly of them!
This is one of my new favourite channels on TH-cam! Thanks so much for these wonderful, thoroughly researched videos!
It's clear she would have lost everything had her lover revealed their affair. He was indeed a rogue. Had women been given the freedoms men enjoyed she would not have been forced to make this choice.
After second time he got sick after visiting her, he should have had a clue.
@@TheXmeimei I've seen the same from the fairer sex....a female besotted...will overlook any character defect...and seemingly will forgive any actions arising from such defects.
My last name is Smith and this video turned on by itself for me, it's more than a story these were lives. Nice story thank you.
I vote for the landlady. Suppose he'd been chatting her up on the sly, as a Plan B to the wealthy Madeleine if she didn't work out, and the landlady found out she'd been played by him, and beaten out by the girl, and found a truly clever way to get back at both of them! The second time Madeleine supposedly poisoned him, he didn't even get sick until the next day. Yeah, I think this theory could hold water...
I agree with you, Maddeline had lost her virginity, she was damaged goods. What could she possibly get out of killing the Frenchman? Eloping with him would make more sense as marrying someone new would expose her lost virginity.
@@user-vg2cz4cq5h Not necessarily. Surgeons were doing a roaring trade in "on the quiet" Maidenhead restoration throughout the Victorian era and well into the 20th Century.
@@perrydowd9285 well that is good to know!!!! However a girl needs family support to get this operation done, I doubt in this case ...
@@user-vg2cz4cq5h Yes that's a very good point. She obviously could not ask for help from her parents. I doubt that organising such an operation was easy and how would a young woman of those times raise the cash to pay for it?
@James Vickers My personal opinion is that if the diary was incriminating Mimi alone, it would have been given as evidence and she would have hung at the gallows. Someone else ,who was too important to society to hang at the gallows for the sake of a fornicating frenchman , was incriminsted in the diary
These stories are well-told and positively entertaining. I love mysteries and these are wonderful. I am so glad that I have discovered this site on TH-cam .
yeah my thoughts exactly
This documentary provided all of the details you want to hear, and rarely get to. Very well done and very informative. Thank you.
Thank you, Mona - I'm glad!
Madeleine's lover should have returned the letters.... He was no gentleman....
And you know not had sex with a young woman he could never expect to marry and that if anyone found out/or god forbid she got pregnant her life would have been ruined...............and you know not forced her to keep having sex with him or he would tell..............yep pieceofshit all the way around. Glad she killed him and got away with it. Billions of women throughout time have suffered greatly due to men who act like this turd did. Zero sympathy for him.
Since on the 3rd & last time he probably figured out she did and did not report her, id say he was a gentleman who loved her.
Since on the 3rd & last time he probably figured out she did and did not report her, id say he was a gentleman who loved her.
@@nikadavise-br9lx she made the choice to have the relationship. He tried to keep her by blackmail but in the end he didnt turn her in.
nikada vise care to cite your sources there? Billions? Throughout time? Have you ever wondered why perhaps people don’t take you or your sweeping statements seriously.?Hey - we can all go home folks, this clown has got it all covered.
I find myself less horrified by this murder than I should be. The guy was essentially blackmailing her to keep receiving her sexual favors, which makes it hard to be properly sympathetic to him.
Yes - I understand. It is very easy to see the predicament Madeleine was in.
I AGREE!
Yes it was appalling. They were even different sexes. How could they f*ck.
@@Shook1917 I agree, it seems to me she was a posh bird who wanted a bit of rough and enjoyed the relationship at first, then when the novelty wore off and she set her sights on a "suitable marriage candidate" of the same class she attempted to end the relationship, of course she was well within her rights to do so, but clean break ups aren't guaranteed for anybody of any gender or station when you have toyed with someone's emotions. Blackmail is indeed a nasty business but not nearly so malevolent as premeditated murder, and most blackmailers knowing they lose their power when they produce the evidence in question do not end up going through with it when their bluff is called. And what did she gain from this act?, she still had to leave in disgrace, the letters were still dragged out but were in the national news not just a minor local scandal but a major national one all in all this was a senseless and tragic act, and the fact she didn't even seem to regret it is telling, most people who kill out of desperation and dark necessity normally show some contrition but it didn't seem to affect her much at all. To quote one of my favourite movies (unforgiven) "its a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have".
Yes he kinda asked for it
The narration is divine, I Love the drawings and pictures bringing the story to life.
Also, I crave a cigarette at the start of every video when I hear the strike of the match. I can almost smell the sulphur.
Thank you so much.
Thanks for the tip. I have a few 100 year old matchbooks. With real sulphur and phosphorus. Very fitting to use while watching these videos.
That's what you get for not taking no for an answer. The fact that he threatened to expose her makes him a vindictive tool IMHO.
In 1857 a woman of any social standing had to marry whomever her father wished. He could not physically force her to marry against her inclinations, but he had absolute power to refuse to consent to a match, and to refuse her any access to money and support. It was literally *impossible* for woman of that class to marry someone unacceptable to her father, and almost as impossible to refuse someone presented to her for engagement. Indeed, an engagement might be arranged between the father and a suitor before the daughter was informed that the arrangement was in place. Children might be betrothed while still infants. It seems to me that this is the situation in which Madeline found herself. It is also entirely possible that she had no idea what sexual activity was, and only later learned that what she had been cajoled into doing would mean that her future husband would know and could publicly condemn her as a 'whore' on their wedding night. This betrayal of trust would surely strike deep and turn her against her Frenchman. It may seem incredible today, but Until as late as the 1950s, women might enter a marriage told nothing except that they should be 'dutiful and obedient to their husband's wishes' on their wedding night. Thus, she had no choice, but only an emotional desire which she had no power to do anything about. That he wouldn't return her letters made her situation even more difficult because for women who lost their reputation the liklihood was great that she might be thrown out on the street leaving her - very often - with no option but prostitution to earn a living. If she learned that he had been freely discussing their private and sexual relationship, it might well end her regard for him overnight. He was no gentleman.
Thoughtful comment - thank you. She was definitely in a quandary...
Oh my...if you're going to expound at length on the time period perhaps you could do it a bit less myopically. Both the American and French Revolutions had happened decades prior, meaning among other things that there were many in the world for whom the classist constructs of which you speak had long been seen quite differently; and the particular man who LOST HIS LIFE was French. To say it was "literally impossible" for a woman to marry someone of whom one's father disapproved is surely a blatant overstatement, given that she was not from a culture where familial honor-killing was an acceptable norm; and it's a safe bet she was aware of both her familial and societal expectations at least as well as are you. While many who married as virgins (in any era) likely had little idea what to expect sexually, I think it's unlikely if not ludicrous to suggest she had no idea that what she was doing (repeatedly) was doing "it". In fact, to go so far as to kiss passionately was seen as a sign of betrothal to the "proper" of her era; which could well be part of the reason, as the presentation notes, that he considered her as such. Furthermore, there's no mention that she was "cajoled", and her letters are hardly those of an unwilling participant. Her likelihood of having no option but prostitution belies the fact that the man she MURDERED wanted nothing more than to MARRY her, as he had every reason to believe she had already vowed to do. In point of fact, had a man backed-out of the situation into which she had placed herself, that man could & likely would have been held legally liable via breach of promise laws which were in place from the Middle Ages through the early 1900's. Moreover, since he did NOT approach her father with the truth, make public their affair, or even seek to expose his murderer while he lay on his death-bed, I'd say he was an exponentially more respectable person than was the monstrosity he had the misfortune of thinking he loved.
@@missapk that's a pretty chaste assumption you make of a guy that was blackmailing a girl with the modern day equivalent of "releasing nudes/sextapes" and not to mention Madeleine entrusted her secrets to two people with one mutual and he is known to have told many people with only one mutual; not to mention "releasing the nudes" that is the love letters. They were both awful but he played with fire and got burned.
I'd focus more on the blackmail for sex bit and less on a feminist's misunderstanding of history.
Poor excuses for premeditated murder.
These are extraordinary high quality and well-documented productions, and that voice! I find these stories fascinating. I shall continue to view as they come along. Your good work is greatly appreciated during a time of forced seclusion due to the pandemic raging here in the states.
You do realise that the pandemic isn't confined to the USA? We've been in lockdown in the UK. It's a global phenomenon - hence the word pandemic.
That voice is remarkably easy to listen to and the story flows well. :)
Many thanks, Peps!
LOOOOOOVE the narrator voice!!
Makes the amazing show even better!!!
You're very kind, Emma - thank you!
I'm not usually one for the Macabre but I was drawn to the George V story out of curiosity and will now diligently go through all you videos. Very interesting and really well told, sir.
This is excellent. The 1949 movie about this, called 'Madeline', is here on TH-cam - just search the title and Ann Todd - and it should come up. I watched it yesterday! All the best:)
It’s actually called The Trial of Madeleine Smith. Thanks for heads up
My husband has always scoffed at how much true crime i listen too :( Then he heard one of your stories and wow he now listens to you too haha im dreading running out of your videos lol well done x
Ah that is very nice to hear - very good wishes to you both!
Thank you So Much for your information on this story, her sisters never married such was the taint on the family 😱
Yes - in times past, the sins of one were the sins of all in a family. Madeleine's actions unfortunately, and rather unfairly to us, tainted the entire family.
This series is so good and so compelling that i have found i need to ration myself to 3 episodes per week. The rythm of your voice is unnervingly calm as the details unfold. It reminds me in a way of Edgar Lustgarten.
While murder is not something I condone of course, considering that she was only 20, that he seduced her while she thought she was in love, and then went on to threaten her with exposure, it's almost understandable that she poisoned him. In those days being ruined was the absolute worst thing that could happen to a young woman. He was no gentleman, and he couldn't have loved her or he wouldn't have tried to blackmail her. Never push a cornered beast, or person, too far. He did and he paid for it with his life. Sorry, not sorry.
Her relationship with him and its aftermath suggests she was wilful in the extreme and lacked restraint; a spoiled and 'entitled' young woman. At this period 'only 20' was well on in marriageable years. I don't see that 'thinking she was in love' excuses her or casts all the blame on him, nor that his love for her - he wanted the relationship to continue - was of an inferior quality to her love for him. And despite the fact that her reputation was ruined, it certainly wasn't the worst that could happen as she went on to marry twice, had a family, and lived to a ripe old age.
Love this series of crime analysis.
Love the narrator's voice.
Love everything.....
Thank you, Jill - I'm delighted you found these worthwhile!
I’ve always been fascinated by the Madeleine Smith case but I know that in my heart of hearts she was guilty. L’Angelier had backed her into a corner and she came out fighting. I cannot bear L’Angelier who was a hypocrite of the worst kind. His letters to her after he took her freely given virginity are full of reproof and scolding, as if he had nothing to do with it. I think poisoning him was a terrible thing to do but he was playing with fire the whole way through the relationship. I think she was a such a state of terror that she was prepared to do anything.
Yes - I think the jury felt exactly as you do: it was pretty clear she was guilty, but they had little sympathy for L'Angelier… She'd probably have come out of the case a bit better if she hadn't been so unapologetic afterwards. She made little effort, it seems, to try to claim her innocence afterwards and there are numerous people who have said she admitted to it, quite unrepentantly. She had the duty of making tea for the Fabian Club in London and George Bernard Shaw, when he realised who she was, remarked jokingly whether she was the best person to be making the tea!
They Got Away With Murder I do wonder if she had some sort of psychiatric disorder because her utter calm after L’Angelier’s death, apart from her flight to Rowaleyn, and during the trial and the bizarre letter she wrote to the prison matron after strike me as incredibly odd.
Society can be such hypocrites. Bc he was a humbly poor man it was sinful for him to marry a young woman above his class... hope they all roast in hell
Wasn't he using arsenic 'recreationally' as well?
In the Scottish books and in a recent play on radio Scotland this has been suggested....
*During the play, it intimated during their intimate relationship.
Can't find the link but Clare Grogan played the part of Madeleine.
@Beverley Lumb In the recreational habit of producing recreational death, surely.
Has anyone ever noticed how committing murder extends one's longevity??? Murderers seem to live well into their eighties, nineties and even 100's? I can't figure it out - I'd probably die 6 month's after due to guilt?
Excellent work, thank you so much! It is strange that so many of these people who get away with murder live to be in their 90s.
The thought that perhaps I might "consider" the same acts as Madeleine were I in the same time and predicament, makes me wonder about myself. 😔😕😩
Wondering and doing are different things - I suspect you understand why she did them, but doing them...
Well, her Victorian parents are to blame. How would you ever find yourself in the same shoes, w/parents who say you must marry someone of their choosing?! Yes, her ego was such that I think a little part of her was, like, "if I can't have him then no one can," and because if false pride in an unwarranted reputation of virginity or whatever. Nowadays, that is not expected to be part of one's good reputation; so the context is, for us, impossible to comprehend. And so ironic that she denied herself this love for her and her family's reputation, and of course it was lost anyway. You would have thought she could have foreseen that; rather sociopathic of her.
@@quickchris10
I don’t think she ever thought, "if I can’t have him, no one can"
IMHO;
Her love for him was from a young heart, and it had cooled, and when she asked of him to return her letters, and he not only refused, but threatened her with exposing them - it turned her completely off.
Instead she went into survival mode, and it became a question of not only her own honour, but the honour of her family as well…
Absolutely love all these wonderful well described stories. Please vontinu. I must buy your books . Thank you
If her name had been Madeleine Cadbury it would have been an open and closed case! Another great video. Grazie.
Very amusing! Thank you, Lupara!
Even her sisters were considered ruined.
As extreme as today is permissive
I discovered this channel early this morning and I'm now on my third case. 😁 Fabulous!
So she committed murder, got away with it and lived to 93 years, many more years then her victim had!
Yes, and by all accounts of those who knew her in later years - not a moment's regret!
He wasn't a gentleman. Just a manipulative golddigger at best. He was heartbroken because his plan wasnt successful He was a bad lot.
@@pyewackett5 That's impossible to judge without a doubt. Victorians famously kept all kinds of mementos, letters, locks of hair, hair jewelry of their loved ones. E. showed bad judgement in not negotiating with a third party. Ms. Smith behavior far worse given standards of the time.
@@pyewackett5
Yes, horrible man😡
@@pyewackett5 So it's ok to kill man that are not gentle?
I believe that she was guilty. All the evidence points to it as you laid out. But as you and many other commenters already pointed out, L'Angelier doesn't exactly come off as a sympathetic victim. She was young and desperate and made a terrible decision. I think the society of the time also has to be partly to blame. You shouldn't ever feel trapped to the point of where you feel like murder is your only option. I think the jury wanted a reason to not give her the full punishment of a guilty verdict and they found a hole in the prosecution's case which gave them the justification they needed.
I am really enjoying this channel by the way. I've always been really interested in these old crime cases, but it's hard to find many documentaries this in depth on them. I hope you keep making videos.
Thank you very much, Billis. It's heartening to have one's efforts appreciated! I agree with all you say here - I imagine the jury were much relieved to have that third way of "not proven" in the Scottish system. I am enjoying the making of them - well, except the technical side of things which I confess I struggle with!
@@TheyGotAwayWithMurder They are very much appreciated. I just discovered you so I have a lot to catch up on, but hopefully you will continue to do this. I'm obsessed with historical documentaries in general, but I've been watching a lot of Titanic documentaries lately so the 1800s and early 1900s are a point of fascination for me right now :)
@@tommyl.dayandtherunaways820 That's great, Billis - there is something fascinating and nostalgic about this period!
Excellent.Very well produced and documented.Will watch many more.
Thank you, Michael - I'm most grateful to you.
You have an amazing voice.
Thank you for sharing it with us.
Thanks for listening, Barbara - and for liking it. I am most grateful.
I’m so late to your channel but have been bingeing your videos while making dinner every night.
Everything is so well written and your calming voice helps me decompress at the end of a hectic day. Thank you! 😊
She seems very happy and content in that last photo.... very much at peace and loved by her great grand daughters... in the end, she did live her own life on her own terms...
Love the music,love the videos ,please do more x
I consider the truly sad tale to be the impact upon her sisters; the scandal ruined their ability to acquire an eligible husband, yet the murderer married , produced offspring, and probably outlived her peers. I doubt very much that she deserved the sympathy as hers was a cruel calculating selfish act which probably matched her personality.
She had to leave Glasgow and go to London. She changed her identity and following the death of her husband, moved to New York and no-one knew of her past. She looked thirty years younger when she died and no-one realised she was in her nineties.
@@doravernon1511 - An example of "bad people do well".
It was the arsnic treatments that made her look younge…
Saw key hall street = Sauchiehall Street.
My mother & father were married on “saw key hall street” in the early 1970’s.
Delighted to have found your channel! I’m addicted. Thank you!
Thank you very much indeed! I am most grateful to you for correcting my error, too - Saw Key Hall Street it is when I return to this, as I know I shall!
Was her powerful family responsible for the two judges strongly object to allow his diary as evidence?
I love that you do older cases, and I find your voice very calming.
Thank you, Lesley Anne - I am glad you like them!
It's unlikely but possible he killed himself. No, he didn't make a dying accusation, but he wrote a diary - "Golly, I keep getting sick every time I spend time with Madeline." He kept every letter - to be found after his death?
He kept every letter with a view to pressuring her into marrying him... He was not an honourable sort of man!
He kept the letters because he loved her i think
@@didarden It's a strange version of love that would see her ruined before he'd let her go.
These are brilliant. Cant wait for a new one. So addictive. Thank you so much for these
You're welcome, Patricia.
This video popped up on my timeline . I'd never seen them before . I'm so glad it did . I suffer from from insomnia and they are great bedtime / middle of night listening . Just put my headphones on and I'm so relaxed . Such a clear calming voice .
Since really young I have loved true murder ,unsolved murders etc . I watched my first horror at the age of five , my book shelfs are covered with crime scene investigations, famous murders . I'm 43 now and thanks to the internet I'm still coming across old cases I've never heard of . Keep on making videos and I will be binge watching later today .❤
Thank you very much, Donna - I'm glad you like them. I'm told they are a good antidote for insomnia!
@@TheyGotAwayWithMurder It sounds terrible when I say I fall asleep but I'm pleased you know what i mean. ❤
Love the voice! So beautiful calm and melifuous but more importantly not rushed and easy to understand thank you so much so very appreciated
Just found your videos a few days ago and I am thoroughly and completely in love. Very interesting and I enjoy the narration very much. Great work. Thank you
Thank you very much, Jennifer - much appreciated!
Mr. McGuire, I’ve listened to number of your presentations and a few of a couple of other channels that relate historically true murder stories. Your presentations are, to me, most outstanding.
There is one thing that has surprised me and that is the number of women that committed murder from the 1700’s through to the early 1900’s.
I don’t have true empirical numbers to compare but it seems like the percentage of women charged and convicted of murder is less now. If anyone has data to contest my assumption, I would love to hear it.
So glad I found your channel!! Most excellent in all its format!! Please continue producing your exceptional broadcast! Thank u for enjoyable sharing !
Thank you very much, Vivian - I shall continue!
Another great job, Mark, thank you so much.
Thank you kindly, Hugh, I am glad you enjoyed it!
Again, such a wonderful telling. It is the way you go round all sides of it and bring it the end all buttoned up. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks, Barbara.
What an excellent channel. I adore the times, descriptions, writing, voice...superb.
Thank you very much, Starr - I'm delighted it meets with your approval!
Another fine documentary. Thank you.
But - "So-chee-hall Street"? Sauchiehall Street - the main Glasgow thoroughfare - is "sock-ee-hall".
Man killed for letters. My question is this why write them if you know the written word can be used against you. Victorian society worried about things like this. So much so where a high society individual will commit murder if said item can compromise their place in society. Where there is sexual repression, there will be carelessness. That Frenchmen underestimated what Madeline would do and all because he wanted to maintain control of the relationship..
I think she was very young and in love - in these circumstances it is possible to do some very foolish things! Once her love for L'Angelier had cooled she fully realised her error - her initial attempt to break up with him seems to suggest she was aware of this, because she said something like "I trust to your honour as a gentleman that you will reveal nothing of what has passed between us..." Of course, L'Angelier was quite prepared to use this power over her... It cost him his life.
@@TheyGotAwayWithMurder People underestimate the psyche of the human. Once the alternatives to solve a problem has ceased, we will result to murder. we are all capable of it.
In modern perspective, if in any "dispute": get good legal advice, cut off all communication & contact , & do not tell the other party what you are going to do. Just be wise, and take action. He could have outted her to her father, but would have lost her anyway and likely would have been forced to re-locate under the radar. E. A. was a romantic, no doubt, it didn't help him with M.S. He would have been all the rage lookswise with the Pre-Raphaelites in England.
Similar to 'social' media and camera phones now..... 😱
I agree. That's Victorian society for you. They rather committed murder than to admit to some "scandal".
Aaaah that English accent, It sounds so very elegant to me I love it!!!!
Hes from liverpool, same place I'm from.
Excellent presentation, I particularly appreciate the wonderful contemporary photographs and illustrations you have so carefully researched and assembled. This case is very famous and there are many discussions of it in print and on film, however yours is exceptionally insightful into the character, psychology and motivation of both Madeleine and Emile. I used to work in Bothwell Street, Glasgow, which is just down the hill from Blythswoid Square, where Madeleine lived, and I remember one time that a colleague pointed out to me the very window from which Madeleine would hand the cup of hot chocolate to Emile - that was the first time I heard tell of this case. By the way, Sauchiehall Street, contiguous to Blythswood Square, should be pronounced “So-he-hall Street” the “ch” as in the Scots “loch”. Its name means “Avenue of Willows”, from the Gaelic “Saughan”, meaning a willow, and is the location of the Willow Tea Rooms, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who was, like Madeleine’s papa, a renowned Glasgow architect.
That is fascinating, Harriet - thank you for the additional history of the locality. I have become aware that I have mispronounced Sauchiehall Street, rather embarrassingly! Unfortunately youtube does not permit editing of videos without losing all the comments - and I particularly like having well thought-out comments on here, as they add a great deal to my channel. But it means any mistakes I make are, unfortunately, frozen on here forever... I am very pleased to have the history of the Avenue of Willows on here - I shall never forget it now!
After many in this series 'They got away with murder' do you trust people as much as you did when you started this series? smirking
I had an experience as a young child when Mom thought I needed cleaning out and she put a laxative in my hot chocolate- and yet, I still trusted her making my meals, dumb me-
Hahaha! Yes - I trust my intuition and I am happy to say I believe the people who carry out these kind of acts remain in a minority! I'll bet that put you off hot chocolate!
Lol😂🤣😅
I worked in maximum security forensic psychiatric facilities with Sexually Violent Predators (by diagnosis and definition) mass murderers and Serial Killers as well as those who have committed crimes so egregious i still won't talk about it. But I also realize that that population is a very small segment. I still trust people and I am pretty open. I do have good spidey senses and I still do not like people coming up behind me though. 6 of 1, 1/2 dozen of the other. 😊
I grew up in Glasgow and went this area many times at night to imagine the atmosphere of Victorian life and death...I now live in Vancouver B.C. and this city has its fair amount of mysterious crime...thank you .
I have never been to Glasgow in my life - although, I hope to go there next year (covid permitting) to do some research at the archives there. I shall certainly visit some of the scenes prominent in this story!
Fascinating...I am SO glad to have discovered your channel! Beautifully written & narrated.
Thank you so much, Rebecca!
@@TheyGotAwayWithMurder YW! (As you can tell I'm going thru very old emails!)
I just found you. Binge watched all your videos in two days. Fantastic work, thank you so much. Itching now for more......
Thank you, Lina - I'm delighted you liked them!
Excellent voice work, well written content, and a good eery tune...yes, I must hear every one!
Glad you enjoyed it
You and Odity are wonderful. Not competition just great talent and quality. I adore both of your voices. Due be each other's best cheerleaders. You have fans in both camps.🤗👍
Thank you so much , Dolores!
I found you about 5 days ago & I’m so low ATM . You’re voice it’s AMAZING & I just lie in bed listening withI I phone 📱 beside me only thing is if it’s the middle of night I don’t see the photos etc . I’m from Glasgow only the slums of the east end NOT anymore though & if I had been madeleine I was have swing from a rope . I have walked by her house as well .
Mark John Maguire, the writer and narrator, if not a barrister, should have been one. Excellent channel.
Why thank you very much!
You tell these stories so well. A terrible injustice.
I was fortunate to have run across your channel, I like your documentary's and your presentation and narration skills are spot on, keep up the great work. I'm sure your channel will grow and become one of the best, I'll be a subscriber for as long as your on the air. Thank you and good luck with your channel.
Thank you very much indeed for your kind words!
Another great story Sir. You keep the audience captivated on what will happen next. I shuddered and almost dropped my Big Chocolate Cocoa in fear after I heard the story you presented ! :)
The murderess Madeline Smith was a lot like the murderer Robert Wood who killed in 1907. Both killer's lived a long time after their murders !
Plus thank's for all your hard work in bringing these great stories to us. It's much appreciated. :)
One last note: Wow ! At 34:15 the young Lass on the far left almost look's modern day ! Thank's for the upload !
Thank you for your generous comment! Yes, the girl does look very modern, I know what you mean.
This is a wonderful series, I love your voice, it makes me feel as if Im in the story with you, thanks very much💕🙂🙂👍
Romantic males and unrecriprocated love. It would have been ok for him to give it up and move on
Mr. Maguire,
I love your productions. This story has become my recent favorite.
That being said, I came across another channel investigating this story.
Thinking this other version may have some extra tidbits, I listened.
The voice actor had a lovely voice, yet the production was disappointing as there seemed a lack of knowledge and respect for the time period; the narrator couldn’t seem/want to understand what would drive a young woman to take such a drastic measure, as well as the horror to be in such a position.
The narrator and writer of this second script are both young(ish). Their attempts to be lighthearted and funny fell flat.
I say this not to downplay their work, but to say thank you, Mr. Maguire, for not only excellent research and narrative, but for treating the dead, their families and the time of these murders respectfully.
Looking forward to the next one!
Superbly researched, written and presented. My new favourite real crime channel.
Many thanks indeed, Jon.
He might have taken arsenic in seemingly small doses to incriminate Madeline. He seemed vindictive enough. He might have taken a bigger dose by mistake the final time. Otherwise if Madeline had poisoned him, why wouldn't he have made the connection and pointed fingers at Madeline in his final hours? What is needed is proof that he bought arsenic himself or had access to it.
Totally agree with your comments. L'Angelier either by accident or deliberation, took arsenic, to incriminate Madeleine, the last dose being fatal. He was also an arsenic taker, and could well have secret sources to obtain arsenic. His diary only began during the final weeks of his life, and deserved to be withheld from the jury. It could well have been written to incriminate Madeleine, knowing that marriage to her was impossible. To say she was a murderess based on what we know is unfounded. Alan.
Keywords "political" and "connections".
And I'll add: For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
Wow if ur an upper class women in Victorian Britain you could get away with almost anything as no one thought that women of that rank would do harm to others
It wasn't that, it was money.
I bet nobody writes licentious letters these days....✒ tis a pity.
Mostly my ink is used on notes... to remind me of my chores , reminding me to do all my chores....
I imagine such communications would be emails now!
@@TheyGotAwayWithMurder Yes...not the same though is it and me with perfectly delightful handwriting....I can only write ink I hate bloody biros ! 👌
@@ajalvin2012 I also write in ink, would you believe? I constantly have black fingers!
@@TheyGotAwayWithMurder Me too ! Only ever in black , I remember back in the 80s Parker had a turquoise ink that I had a brief dalliance with , just recently I've had to up my nib size....it appears my eyeballs are ageing 🤣
@@ajalvin2012 Yes, always black for me too. I've always preferred bigger nibs - I have large writing!
Me too,i fall asleep watching these,instead of saying my prayers recently,i,ll have you know.😁
Oh no!
Fascinating story!
Thank you 🥰
Glad you enjoyed it, Deborah
So well done. I absolutely love your voice. Listening from New Orleans!
Acting with no guilt,shame etc must be real insanity😐
Truly a very strange man...
They Got Away With Murder I believe the person who wrote the comment meant Madeleine was the one who acted with no guilt or shame!!
It's called psychopathy. It is a personality disorder. See www.healthline.com/health/psychopath
Ah when a man cannot accept that a woman wishes to end a relationship, the man may get threatening, (and sometimes this can lead to the female being murdered) on this occasion the woman got there first. She needed to deshackle from him.
I wonder if it crossed his mind as he lay dying that his love had poisoned him? Or was the thought of that betrayal too much to bear?
It is difficult to know - but I have speculated that it did, because of some of the comments he made to his friend.
@@TheyGotAwayWithMurder ok, excellent videos.
@@SY-ok2dq some interesting points you do make. But murder seems extreme.
I just want to highlight a piece of evidence that was not mentioned in the video but which helped the defence case. L'Angelier's valet ( a clerk with a valet seems rather unusual), testified that the victim had talked about suicide on at least one occasion. In addition, when collating Smith's letters to her lover it seems that the police did not correctly match them to the envelopes. However, I am not sure if this error was known at the time of the trial.
I love to hear you tell these stories.
Thank you, Charlotte.
❤️ listening to the stories. Hope you have many more.
Thank you, Berthana - there are currently 30-something, and I will do my best to keep adding to them in the New Year.
It's interesting. One reads in mysteries of the 1920s, '30s and '40s references to the Madeline Smith case in passing, or that it was ruled "Not Proven," but never the full details exactly what happened. This is the first time that I have ever heard anything about the man she is accused of poisoning or of her possible motives. Very informative.
Just finished watching "Madeline " 1950 movie..Great movie.
I remember seeing it Years ago and it was a good movie.
I literally just read this in your book this morning!
Wow - that is so nice! I changed as little as I could in the transcription of the stories - although I have sought to correct any errors I have made along the way, and introduced new thoughts occasionally!
Well Done, Once Again! Thank You, Mr. Maguire. :)
She should not have done it. Still, I find it hard to feel remorse for a narcissistic stalker.
What doesn’t make sense to me is the letters. Madeleine’s entire motive for murder would have been to silence L’Angelier and put an end to the blackmailing-so if she killed him, why would she just leave the letters in his possession to incriminate her not only in an illicit relationship but now in murder as well? There were multiple points here where you’d expect a woman experienced in navigating a secret affair to be a bit more circumspect in other respects: why did she bring a witness with her when buying arsenic, for instance, and why did she make no attempt to conceal that purchase whatsoever, unless she really was intending to use it for cosmetic purposes? Either she conceived one of the most half-baked plots in criminal history and got away with it, or else she was framed by someone else in the know: either L’Angelier in committing suicide-as mentioned, he did call the landlady to tell her something on his deathbed, and the judges did find enough suspicious circumstances about his diary that it might have been planned as a tool for this purpose-or else by the landlady herself, who knew about the affair and was the only person in a position to both know about the affair and to poison L’Angelier at that time (even Madeleine likely couldn’t have poisoned him on the date of his first symptoms, since she hadn’t purchased the arsenic yet-and if she had purchased it covertly before that date it makes no sense that she did so overtly afterwards). I think L’Angelier was just the manipulative, erratic sort to use suicide as a weapon to ruin Madeleine’s life in this way, but I think the circumstantial evidence that the landlady might have done it is just as strong as the circumstantial evidence that Madeleine might have done it.