Death at the Priory is the true story of a murder. In 1876, a London lawyer named Charles Bravo was poisoned to death in his suburban home, the Priory. Suspects abounded—the man’s wife, Florence; her ex-lover, Dr. James Gully; the housekeeper, Mrs. Cox; and the groom. But the case was never fully solved. In this book, James Ruddick offers a convincing solution to the mystery. The book is divided into two parts; the first covers the events of the murder and inquest, while in the second the author outlines his theory, narrowing the suspects down one by one.

This fewer-than-200-page book began in the late 1990s as a series of research papers, by an investigative journalist. As a result, the book is highly readable, with short, snappy chapters. But because the book is so brief, it really fails to even scratch the surface of what Victorian domestic life was really like. And the author makes a lot of generalizations about the Victorians (“theirs was a heavy drinking age”), without backing it up. In addition, he tries to force modern ideas upon Florence. The author assembled parts of the story through talking to descendants of the people that were involved; Ruddick actually seems offended by the fact that Gully’s descendant (an MP, by the way) wouldn’t talk to him. Lots of people are forthcoming with their family’s history, but a lot of people, especially those in the public eye, would rather leave the past in the past.

But this is not by any stretch of the imagination a scholarly work, and the author does an admirable job of telling the Bravo story. I do think he backed up his theory remarkably well—and I have to say that after reading this book, I’m convinced by it. It’s amazing that nobody in 1876, given the paucity of suspects, actually figured out what happened. ( )

Less than six months after her wedding, Florence Bravo's husband died as a result of an extremely painful poisoning. The case became a highly public one and one of Victorian England's most sensational unsolved crimes.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part describes the life of Florence Campbell Ricardo Bravo before her marriage and the details of the crime. This part was very interesting. Florence was not your typical Victorian woman. She refused to put up with her lot as an abused wife and left her first husband, she had an extra-marital affair with a prominent doctor and after the death of said first husband became an independently wealthy woman. The case itself is quite intriguing and as the title suggests, includes all the ingredients for sensationalism.

The second half of the book is the author's attempt to solve the case. He provides evidence that he himself discovered during his own research. I did not enjoy this part as much. I found the author's logic not only faulty but amusing at times. For instance he makes statements such as someone could not be trusted because they were a free mason, someone could not be the murderer because he was heavily involved in charity. I also didn't find his conclusions necessarily very believable. It felt like he had his assumption and then made the facts fit to his liking. This part of the book also takes a look at what became of the major personalities after the inquest which was a very interesting.

Nevertheless, still an engaging read of a fascinating unsolved murder and a particularly appealing look at a non-typical Victorian woman. ( )

In December 1875, wealthy widow Florence Ricardo (nee Campbell) married ambitious barrister Charles Bravo. Less than six months later he was dead, as a result of poisoning by antimony.

Florence's first marriage had been disastrous, her first husband being a very heavy drinker who terrorised his wife. Florence left him, despite tremendous pressure from her family to endure the marriage for the sake of appearances. Once she was free of him, she outraged society by having an affair with elderly physician Dr James Gully. She was caught in flagrante delicto with him, and he aborted the baby (his) that she was carrying.

Her marriage to Charles Bravo was a marriage of convience rather than love - he would restore her shaky social position, and she brought to the marriage a substantial amount of money. Unfortunately, Bravo was a typical Victorian male, and a bully. He sexually abused her and expected to control her finances. Florence was not a typical Victorian woman - headstrong, demanding control of her own money, and desperate to avoid any more pregnancies following the abortion and two later miscarriages.

Ruddick presents the facts and the cast of characters in a readable style reminiscent of a classy murder mystery. Through his researches, including tracing of descendents of the main protagonists, he unearths fresh evidence and provides a credible version of exactly what happened to Charles Bravo and who killed him. What makes the book especially interesting is the way in which Ruddick examines Victorian attitudes towards marriage and sexuality, and the role of women. [May 2007]

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