Death at the Priory: Love, Sex and Murder in Victorian England

In 1875, the beautiful widow Florence Ricardo married the handsome and successful young attorney Charles Bravo and made her home at the Priory, a Gothic mansion in London, hoping to escape the scandals of her past. But Bravo proved to be a brutal and conniving man, and the marriage was far from happy. Then one night he suddenly collapsed, and three days later died an agonizing death. His doctors immediately determined that he had been poisoned. The graphic and sensational details of the case captured the public imagination of Victorian England. The investigation dominated the press for weeks, and the list of suspects grew to include Florence; her secret lover, the eminent doctor James Gully; her longtime companion and housekeeper, Mrs. Cox; and the recently dismissed stableman, George Griffiths. But ultimately no murderer could be determined, and despite the efforts of numerous historians, criminologists, and other writers since (including Agatha Christie), the case has never been definitively solved. Now James Ruddick retells this gripping story of love, greed, brutality, and betrayal among the elite, offering an intimate portrait of Victorian culture and of one woman’s struggle to live in this repressive society — and unmasking the true murderer for the first time. Simultaneously a murder mystery, a colorful social history, and a modern-day detective tale, Death at the Priory is a thrilling read and a window into a fascinating time. “One of the most mysterious poisoning cases ever recorded.” — Agatha Christie