The Perreaus and Mrs. Rudd: Forgery and Betrayal in Eighteenth-Century London - Hardcover

Andrew, Donna T.; McGowen, Randall

Hardcover

ISBN 13: 9790520220620

Publisher: University of California Press, 2001

Synopsis

The Perreaus and Mrs. Rudd tells the remarkable story of a complex forgery uncovered in London in 1775. Like the trials of Martin Guerre and O.J. Simpson, the Perreau-Rudd case--filled with scandal, deceit, and mystery--preoccupied a public hungry for sensationalism. Peopled with such familiar figures as John Wilkes, King George III, Lord Mansfield, and James Boswell, this story reveals the deep anxieties of this period of English capitalism. The case acts as a prism that reveals the hopes, fears, and prejudices of that society. Above all, this episode presents a parable of the 1770s, when London was the center of European finance and national politics, of fashionable life and tell-all journalism, of empire achieved and empire lost.
The crime, a hanging offense, came to light with the arrest of identical twin brothers, Robert and Daniel Perreau, after the former was detained trying to negotiate a forged bond. At their arraignment they both accused Daniel's mistress, Margaret Caroline Rudd, of being responsible for the crime. The brothers' trials coincided with the first reports of bloodshed in the American colonies at Lexington and Concord and successfully competed for space in the newspapers. From March until the following January, people could talk of little other than the fate of the Perreaus and the impending trial of Mrs. Rudd. The participants told wildly different tales and offered strikingly different portraits of themselves. The press was filled with letters from concerned or angry correspondents. The public, deeply divided over who was guilty, was troubled by evidence that suggested not only that fair might be foul, but that it might not be possible to decide which was which.
While the decade of the 1770s has most frequently been studied in relation to imperial concerns and their impact upon the political institutions of the day, this book draws a different portrait of the period, making a cause célèbre its point of entry. Exhaustively researched and brilliantly presented, it offers both a vivid panorama of London and a gauge for tracking the shifting social currents of the period.

About this title

About the Author

Donna T. Andrew is Professor of History at the University of Guelph and author of Philanthropy and Police (1989). Randall McGowen is Professor of History at the University of Oregon.

From the Back Cover

"The Perreaus and Mrs. Rudd is stunningly wrought. Anyone with the slightest interest in crime or its history, in the press and sensationalism, in the cultural history of modern economic and urban life, in London or eighteenth century England could not fail to be intrigued by the stories of two identical twin brothers--one good, happily married and respectable, the other not so good and living with a courtesan--who die hand-in-hand on the gallows. Are they the victims of their own corruption, or of the wiles of the wicked Mrs. Rudd?....This book is micro-history at its best." --Thomas Laqueur, author of Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud

"Dee-li-cious!!! Immensely readable, this delectable true-crime story of eighteenth-century forgery, deceit, and ambition casts light on a wide range of socially significant sites, from the credit market to the world of fashion, from the law court to the imperial stage.... The Perreaus and Mrs. Rudd is a tour de force of historical scholarship, and it's an engrossing story as well." --Mary Poovey, author of A History of the Modern Fact: Problems of Knowledge in the Sciences of Wealth and Society

From the Inside Flap

"The Perreaus and Mrs. Rudd is stunningly wrought. Anyone with the slightest interest in crime or its history, in the press and sensationalism, in the cultural history of modern economic and urban life, in London or eighteenth century England could not fail to be intrigued by the stories of two identical twin brothers--one good, happily married and respectable, the other not so good and living with a courtesan--who die hand-in-hand on the gallows. Are they the victims of their own corruption, or of the wiles of the wicked Mrs. Rudd? This book is micro-history at its best."--Thomas Laqueur, author of Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud

"Dee-li-cious!!! Immensely readable, this delectable true-crime story of eighteenth-century forgery, deceit, and ambition casts light on a wide range of socially significant sites, from the credit market to the world of fashion, from the law court to the imperial stage. The Perreaus and Mrs. Rudd is a tour de force of historical scholarship, and it's an engrossing story as well."--Mary Poovey, author of A History of the Modern Fact: Problems of Knowledge in the Sciences of Wealth and Society

Reviews

In this thoroughly researched examination of a famous 18th-century forgery trial, the authors skillfully interweave legal, economic and social history to place the "Perreau-Rudd affair" into its larger historical context. In 1775, as news of rebellion in the American colonies began to trickle in, London was preoccupied with a high-class scandal the twin brothers Perreau, Robert and Daniel, and Mrs. Rudd, Daniel's elegant mistress, were accused of engaging in a forgery scheme. The brothers pleaded their innocence and then accused Mrs. Rudd of masterminding the crime. Mrs. Rudd claimed that Daniel had forced her to participate in the crime to finance his spendthrift ways. The London press, faced with three upper-crust defendants and a sordid tale of betrayal, found the case irresistible and, the authors explain, "the papers helped to produce a new genre, the sensational criminal trial." The Perreaus and especially Mrs. Rudd used the press to plead their innocence. Why the public fascination? In an era of burgeoning commercial enterprise, the case exposed profound insecurities about the stability of "paper instruments," such as bonds of credit. The authors do a fine job of exploring the economic underpinnings of 18th-century England. Many viewed the case as a Hogarthian morality lesson: financial excess and deceit leading to the gallows (where the Perreau brothers ended up). The case also triggered questions regarding important legal issues, such as the Crown's role in granting pardons and the role of magistrates in offering immunity to criminal conspirators in exchange for their cooperation. The authors have created a first-rate work of historical research, one that will certainly appeal to those interested in either the history of law or the development of public and media fascination with scandal.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

The 1775 case in which twin brothers Robert and Daniel Perreau and Daniel's mistress, Margaret Caroline Rudd, were accused of forging bonds filled the British newspapers with stories and letters debating the guilt of all three. Rudd was portrayed as a courtesan forger and Daniel as her bankrupt, extravagant lover (and father of her children), while Robert was seen as a high-society apothecary and secret stock gambler. Some claimed that Rudd was the victim of ambitious men, while others believed that she deceitfully ensnared the Perreaus. The Perreau convictions shocked and titillated the middle and upper classes. The moral drama symbolized society's fears at a time when conspicuous consumption fascinated people, "IOUs" substituted for money, and forgery undermined prosperity. Though Rudd went free, she was destitute and discredited; the brothers were hanged. Andrew (history, Univ. of Guelph; Philanthropy and Police) and McGowen (history, Univ. of Oregon) present a readable, meticulous study that offers insights into women's status, law, economy, and society; the work has some mass appeal. Another book on the subject, published in England this year, is Sarah Bakewell's The Smart: The True Story of Margaret Caroline Rudd and the Unfortunate Perreau Brothers (Chatto and Windus). Recommended for academic and larger public libraries. Nigel Tappin, Huntsville, Ont.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: University of California Press
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 13: 9790520220620
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 358