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The Daughters of Gentlemen
The Poisonous Seed
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Cruel Deeds and Dreadful Calamities
More Essex Murders
Middlesex Murders
Greater London Murders
Kent Murders
Notorious Blasted Rascal
The Crooks Who Conned Millions
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Whiteley's Folly
Essex Murders
Chloroform: The Quest for Oblivion
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"I love writing about crime, especially Victorian crime. Before the launch of my fiction series set in Bayswater in the 1880s I researched and wrote true crime and historical biography. It is that fascination for the nineteenth century and those contradictory Victorians that I now bring to my fiction writing. Frances Doughty’s adventures are only just beginning!"
Linda Stratmann
Daughters of Gentlemen Out Now!
The Daughters of Gentlemen
is now available to purchase from all good bookstores and online.
Book Signing
On Saturday 5 May, 2012 I am signing copies of Daughters of Gentlemen at Waterstones in Selborne Walk, Walthamstow from 12 to 2. My husband and myself will be attending in Victorian costume!
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The Daughters of Gentlemen
The sequel to The Poisonous Seed is
Frances Doughty
's first case as a private detective. With curious goings-on at a respectable private school for well brought up girls, the governors naturally call in a lady detective to investigate, but soon it becomes a case of murder. As election fever hits Bayswater and the formidable ladies of the Bayswater Women's Suffrage Society swing into action, Frances discovers the dark secrets that lie behind the lace curtains.
The Poisonous Seed
In 1880, 19 year old
Frances Doughty
is assisting her ailing father in his Bayswater chemist's shop. When a wealthy customer dies after drinking medicine dispensed at the shop, her father is blamed, and the business collapses. Frances is convinced that the customer was murdered and the only way to prove it is for her to become a detective...
The Crooks Who Conned Millions
This lively and engaging book tells the stories of some of the biggest fraudsters of the nineteenth century. From the largest fraud on the London Stock Exchange - in which naval hero Lord Cochrane was accused of initiating a rumour that Napoleon had been defeated so that the value of millions of pounds worth of shares which he held would be inflated - to the extraordinary story of Mary Baker, the daughter of a cobbler from Devonshire who fooled society as 'Princess Caraboo of Javasu', this is a fascinating book.
More Essex Murders
This chilling follow-up to Essex Murders brings together more true cases, dating between 1823 and 1960, that shocked not only the county but also made headline news across the nation.
Chloroform: The Quest for Oblivion
A history of the discovery, uses and abuses of chloroform from 1831 to the present. Chloroform revolutionised surgery, but also caused hundreds of sudden deaths, the cause of which was a hotly-debated mystery in which physicians took sides and hurled insults at each other in the medical press.
Essex Murders
The county of Essex has rolling arable farmland, Epping Forest, sleepy villages, busy market towns and secluded backwaters - a wide variety of settings for murder. This selection of crimes uncovers not only famous cases, but also previously unpublished dramatic and tragic tales.
Cruel Deeds and Dreadful Calamities
The Illustrated Police News is often dismissed as a crude publication which aimed to thrill the undiscerning reader with gruesome pictures. Cruel Deeds and Dreadful Calamities sets out to correct that belief by demonstrating the diversity of its subject matter, examining its social and political agenda and revealing the power and compassion in its images.
Fraudsters and Charlatans
(Paperback edition of The Crooks who Conned Millions) - This lively and engaging book tells the stories of some of the biggest fraudsters of the nineteenth century.
Middlesex Murders
Middlesex Murders brings together numerous murderous tales, some of which were little known outside the county, and others which made national headlines. Contained within the pages of this book are the stories behind some of the most heinous crimes ever committed in Middlesex.
Whiteley's Folly
This is the rags to riches to murder story of William Whiteley, founder of Whiteleys stores Bayswater. What was the secret of his success? And was genial Mr Whiteley quite the 'jolly good fellow' he purported to be?
Greater London Murders
This compendium brings together thirty-three murderous tales - one from each of the capital's boroughs - that not only shocked the City but made headline news across the country. Throughout its history the great urban sprawl of Greater London has been home to some of the most shocking murders in England, many of which have made legal history.
Gloucestershire Murders
Contained within the pages of Gloucestershire Murders are the stories behind some of the most notorious murders in the county's history. The cases covered include the most fascinating but least known crimes, as well as famous murders that gripped not just Gloucestershire but the whole nation.
Kent Murders
Among the gruesome cases featured here are the doctor who was poisoned with morphine in Faversham; the couple who were brutally battered to death in their beds in Chislehurst; and the strange death of a young German man whose body was discovered with one hand missing on Ramsgate beach. All manner of murder and mystery are included here, making Kent Murders a must-read for true crime enthusiasts everywhere.
Notorious Blasted Rascal
This is the true story of the infamous Colonel Francis Charteris, card-sharp, fraud, extortioner, and serial rapist, who believed that he could use his ill-gotten fortune to buy his way out of any trouble. For many years this was true - and then he met his match in a very determined girl - his own maidservant.
"... rollicking fun, in a sedate pristine way ... at times I was reminded of dear Precious anglicised and transported back to Bayswater in the Victorian era."
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Review of
The Daughters of Gentlemen
by Janet Dowling, Professional Storyteller.
" I predict that this new calling will win her many new readers and admirers."
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Review of
The Poisonous Seed
by Helen Bettinson
"These are not only famous cases, but previously unpublished tragedies…..Several of the stories keep the reader guessing until all the evidence is gathered in."
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Review of
Essex Murders
by Heritage Focus Magazine August 2004
"Stratmann has put together a cast of Dickensian characters ... and woven them into a heady tapestry of innovation ..."
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Review of
Chloroform: The Quest for Oblivion
by British Journal of Anaesthesia 92(2) 299-300 (2004)
"I feel that I am walking down the street in Frances's company and seeing the people and houses around me with clarity. We are firmly fixed in time and place as this very Victorian crime is dissected."
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Review of
The Poisonous Seed
by Jennifer S Palmer
"Brilliantly researched, utterly fascinating and at times shocking. This is a real gem."
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Review of
Chloroform: The Quest for Oblivion
by Peter James
"... a serious book on a difficult medical subject but its fluent, crisp and vivid style makes it a delight to read."
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Review of
Chloroform: The Quest for Oblivion
by Professor Ray J. Defalque, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Alabama
"This book is both a scientific and a social history, skilfully woven together and full of the most fascinating detail. I unhesitatingly recommend it."
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Review of
Chloroform: The Quest for Oblivion
by Anthony Daniels, Daily Telegraph