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Filled with love, greed, intrigue, violence, and a wealth of suspects, a riveting true account details the unsolved murder of successful attorney Charles Bravo, a cruel man who tormented his wife Florence, in a mystery that paints an intriguing portrait of Victorian culture and one woman's fight to exist in this repressive society. 35,000 first printing.

Adult/High School-A true-crime story that will hook readers from the beginning. A young woman, a faithful housekeeper, a former lover, an abusive husband-all are the ingredients of a classic murder mystery, but all play into this story of real life and death in 1876 England. Ruddick considers the facts, introduces the people involved, and "solves" a case that has fascinated people for more than 126 years. Just a few months into his marriage to Florence, Charles Bravo became desperately ill. Despite the best efforts of the finest physicians, he died after three days of terrible suffering. Within the week, two Scotland Yard Detectives were assigned to investigate foul play. A coroner's inquest was held and the scandalous details of lives were divulged. Despite five weeks of testimony, the jury announced that there was "insufficient" evidence to name Bravo's murderer. That's where the case remained until the author began conducting his own investigation in 1999. He became hooked as he read about and revisited the case and tried to bring a fresh perspective to an unsolved poisoning. Teens will find this a fascinating look at the lifestyles of the Victorian age.
Peggy Bercher, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Journalist Ruddick (Lord Lucan: What Really Happened) presents a colorful, entertaining account of an unsolved Victorian murder, rife with uneasy class and gender issues. The sensational 1876 domestic poisoning, which fascinated Agatha Christie and others, features archetypal mystery elements, including a gloomy south London mansion, inscrutable servants, rejected lovers, a despicable victim and a protagonist embodying her era's tortured sexual politics. The young Florence Ricardo attained fortune and social position after her alcoholic, abusive husband's death, but the discovery of her affair with the much older, prominent physician James Gully jeopardized her standing. Thus she enthusiastically agreed to marry attorney Charles Bravo. Unfortunately, Bravo emerged as a mean-spirited misogynist, controlling Florence's finances and treating her as his sexual possession, even following a traumatic miscarriage. In his final days Bravo dismissed Florence's servants willy-nilly, providing numerous suspects in his murder: one night, his water pitcher was spiked with a lethal dose of tartar emetic, a derivative of antimony. Initial suspicion centered on Mrs. Cox, Florence's taciturn housekeeper, who seemingly misled doctors and investigators, and Florence herself was humiliatingly grilled during the inquest. Despite widespread speculation, officials concluded that there was insufficient evidence against any of the suspects. Ruddick shrewdly surveys these events, illuminating his story with trenchant insights into key figures' lives and the social codes that encouraged Bravo's chauvinism and made Florence an outcast for her attempted self-determination. He catalogues previous theories about the culprit (Christie favored the jilted Dr. Gully), then offers a plausible hypothesis. This well-executed portrait of Victorian mores and malice will please the mystery and true-crime crowd and very possibly a wider audience. Eight pages b&w photos not seen by PW.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Journalist/television researcher Ruddick (Lord Lucan: What Really Happened) here revisits an unsolved murder that generated a tumultuous 19th-century legal drama. Examining the sudden collapse and death of Charles Bravo at his wealthy wife's manor and the ensuing coroner's inquest branded by the Times as "the most disgusting exhibition to have been witnessed in this generation" he has produced a book that is both murder mystery and social history. However, the book is not convincing in either capacity. Ruddick notes that he acquired "privileged access" to original sources, including unpublished letters and family papers, but what he deems the "only plausible explanation" (i.e., that Florence Bravo poisoned her husband and concealed the crime with the help of her housekeeper) still relies heavily on speculation. Further, his provocative thesis that Florence Bravo's rejection of the feminine status quo and her "attempt to take control of her life" foreshadowed a pattern of social change is worthy of a much more precise investigation than Ruddick provides here. Recommended for large public libraries with an interest in Victorian history. Robert C. Jones, Central Missouri State Univ., Warrensburg
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.