(Image: Hulton Archive)
CSI it isn鈥檛, but Stephen Bates鈥檚 The Poisoner paints a vivid portrait of the life and crimes of Victorian doctor-turned-serial killer William Palmer
FROM the outset, there is no mystery about the fate awaiting Dr William Palmer, the infamous 鈥淩ugeley Poisoner鈥�. Stephen Bates鈥檚 tale opens with an account of the festival-type atmosphere at the doctor鈥檚 execution in the town of Stafford in 1856.
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Palmer had been convicted of murdering one of his closest friends, John Parsons Cook, to get hold of his winnings at the race track 鈥� though he was also suspected of murdering several others for similar reasons.
Bates鈥檚 intention is not to draw out the suspense towards a big reveal, but rather to breathe new life into a story that unfolded in Victorian times.
Through clearly exhaustive research 鈥� and the occasional wry turn of phrase 鈥� he not only draws you into the scandalous and bewildering tale but also manages to make many aspects feel truly contemporary.
This is not CSI or Waking the Dead, however. From a shambolic autopsy to contaminated evidence, the case against Palmer was far from ironclad. Because he had purchased large amounts of it, strychnine was eventually found to be his poison of choice, but it was Palmer鈥檚 odd behaviour that truly did him in.
聯From a shambolic autopsy to contaminated evidence, the case against Palmer was far from ironclad聰
Beyond the immediate details of Palmer鈥檚 story, Bates paints a broader portrait of life in Victorian England, of the minimal training and often dangerous influence of doctors, the chaotic and sometimes bloodthirsty legal system and the class-spanning allure of a horse race. Alongside these came the emergence of new financial products such as life insurance, which featured centrally in some of Palmer鈥檚 suspected get-rich-quick schemes.
In telling Palmer鈥檚 story, Bates walks us through a world at once gruesome and captivating, corrupt and striving for change. Even without DNA analysis or detailed toxicology reports, it is in many ways not so very different from today.
Duckworth
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淒r Death鈥�
