The Magnificent Spilsbury and the Case of the Brides in the Bath

The Magnificent Spilsbury and the Case of the Brides in the Bath is a non-fiction history by Jane Robins in which she explores the sinister deaths of a string of almost-"spinster" women, mysteriously drowning in rooming house baths within a few days or weeks of marrying. The years involved range from approximately 1908 to 1915, the places primarily the seaside towns of England, and the individual involved in all the cases was the multiple-aliased George Joseph Smith (aka Henry Williams aka John Lloyd, etc.). The "magnificent Spilsbury" of the title is the young forensic pathologist, Bernard Spilsbury, who brought scientific analysis into the courtroom, and it was, indeed, largely his evidence that convicted Smith of multiple murders. show more Robins' book alternates chapters between the stories of the female victims and the development of the pathologist's expertise; the full story is told in an engaging style, but every quote she uses is well-sourced, either to interviews by police or to newspaper articles concerning the crimes and the trial, or to books written by some of the involved parties after the fact. What's most interesting to me is that in her last chapters Robins points out that most of the "science" the Spilsbury confidently put forth to condemn the evil Smith has since been disproven - that is, the man was convicted on false evidence! However, there's no doubt that he was guilty, which raises more questions to ponder. I think a good historical treatise should leave one with more questions than answers at the end, and this does a good job of that. A really fascinating glimpse into the English world of 100 years ago, now long gone; recommended! show less

This was excellent. The story of George Joseph Smith's life and crimes is interesting enough by itself (I wrote about him in a guest entry for the blog Executed Today), but Robins also did a good job putting the story in its proper historical context.

Women were supposed to be wives and mothers, and the general belief was that if a girl wasn't married or at least engaged by the time she was in her mid-twenties, there was something wrong with her. It was also very difficult for a single woman to support herself. Due to World War I, emigration to the colonies, and the fact that more females survived infancy than males, there was a shortage of men in Britain. (Kind of like how it is in present-day China, except the other way around.) All of show more this meant that women were desperate to marry, and "old maids" like Margaret Lofty, Bessie Mundy, and Alice Burnham could be talked into marrying a near-stranger within weeks, or even days, of meeting him. Anything was better than being single forever. Even Alice, who was at 25 still relatively young, and who had a thriving career as a nurse, thought that. They were the only women he killed but they were not his only victims; Smith made a living out of talking desperate spinsters into marrying him, robbing them of whatever cash and valuables they possessed, and then walking out and vanishing from their lives. He bigamously "married" at least eight women.

The book is not just about crime and women's studies, though: people who are interested in forensics will get a lot out of this book as well. Bernard Spilsbury was a celebrity forensic pathologist (yes, really, that is not an oxymoron) and his testimony was the crux of the prosecution's case. The book talks about other famous murder cases which he helped investigate. Yet he has become a controversial figure: looking back a century later, we can see that many of Spilsbury's methods were unscientific and he was often just plain wrong. This was not because the man was incompetent or lazy -- he was a very intelligent man and a dedicated scientist -- but simply because it was the nineteen-teens and his field was in its infancy.

I am very glad I read this book, not only because it was a great read but because it turns out I made some errors in the above-mentioned Executed Today entry I wrote about George Joseph Smith, and with the book I will correct them. If you want to know more about Spilsbury, there are a couple of biographies of him including Colin Evans's The Father of Forensics: The Groundbreaking Cases of Sir Bernard Spilsbury, and the Beginnings of Modern CSI, Douglas Browne's Bernard Spilsbury: His Life and Cases, and Andrew Rose's Lethal Witness: Sir Bernard Spilsbury, Honorary Pathologist. show less

Most true crime aficionados are familiar with Britain’s infamous “Brides in the Bath” killer who married three women then killed them for their money.

This absorbing book by Jane Robins details the crimes of George Smith as well as the illustrious career of Bernard Spilsbury, a forensic pathologist who first gained public notice with his courtroom testimony which helped seal the fate of Dr. Crippen. Robins does a good job weaving the lives of these two men until they meet on opposite sides of the judicial system.

Robins also gives the reader a sense of the history of the times through newspaper accounts and excerpts from books to give an understanding of the social mores of the times. Although the Victorian era was over, at the show more start of the 20th century women had few options. This leads to some understanding as to why these women married George Smith when there were indications that he was not of good character.

This book is well researched. The tone of the writing is authoritative yet accessible to the casual reader.

A good solid read. Highly recommended for the true crime buff. show less