A Woman Scorned

The story of Mary Ann Cotton, an alleged serial killer hanged for murder in 1873, is here seen through the eyes of Londoner Victoria Kilburn, who visits the Durham village where Mary Ann is alleged to have killed her last victim. The disfigured Victoria is drawn to the charismatic Mary Ann, and does not believe the rising tide of scandal that leads to Mary Ann's arrest. In this novel, using existing evidence, Wendy Robertson challenges the received wisdom that Mary Ann Cotton was indeed a serial killer. We see Mary Ann's tragic progress to the gallows through Victoria's eyes, even as the girl's disfigurement is cured by Mary Ann's herbal medicines . 'Robertson is a rare breed a writer with an exquisite gift for creating vivid, relatable female characters''Scottish Daily Record Historical Note One - What are the facts? Although clearly a work of fiction, this novel was inspired by the real people and events surrounding the trial and execution of Mary Ann Cotton in 1873. As well as newspapers, census, contemporary documents such as police reports, I reads Mary Ann Cotton by the late Arthur Appleton (County Durham Books 1973). Mr Appleton's concluded that Mary Ann probably killed 14 or 15 people. Tony Whitehead, whose well documented account Mary Ann Cotton, Dead but not Forgotten, (Self-published. Undated) is presented in rigorous style but in the end almost drifts to the conclusion that Mary Ann was probably guilty at least in three cases. Derek Hebden's Murder at West Auckland, a more summary account (History Snapshot Series 1987), was also useful. But as I read and thought about Mary Ann it dawned on me than by modern standards this case was at least unproven. Interestingly Appleton comments that in some programmes put out by the BBC in 1975 the actress playing Mary Ann found her role difficult because she believed Mary Ann to be innocent. Well researched as they are, in all these writers' accounts, impression and dramatic second-hand commentary tend to be used in the absence of truly substantive and connective evidence. In the end it seems that whether Mary Ann was guilty or innocent appears still to be a matter of belief. Tellingly, Appleton says in his conclusion The Mary Ann Cotton family spanned the lifetime of the Durham Coalfield. The underworld of coal was explored and known far better than the underworld mind of Mary Ann Cotton. In writing this novel I was inspired by the thought that perhaps the 'underworld mind' of Mary Ann Cotton might be further explored through the richer, more sinewy medium of fiction, which uses contemporary human insight into the rather thin available facts. In the year I wrote this I came to feel her around me, at my shoulder, cheering me on.