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1857: A woman stands accused of poisoning her lover…a true life tale
The Strange Affair of Madeleine Smith
What you need to know before your trail
It was a case that rocked Victorian society. Madeleine Smith, a young woman from a prominent Glasgow family, stood accused of the murder of her lover. The evidence against her seemed overwhelming. But after what was described as Scotland’s trial of the century, Madeleine received the verdict of ‘not proven’ and walked free from the courtroom.Emile L’Angelier was a working-class immigrant from the Channel Islands. He and Madeleine began an illicit affair, which, two years later, she tried to end to marry a wealthier man. When Emile threatened to show her father their passionate love letters, she desperately agreed to continue their covert correspondence and meetings. Six weeks later, on 23 March, 1857, Emile was dead from arsenic poisoning.”
Travel Guide
Travel back in BookTrail style to Glasgow 1857
Madeleine Hamilton Smith (29 March 1835 – 12 April 1928) was a 19th-century Glasgow socialite who was the accused in a sensational murder trial in Scotland in 1857.
The family lived in Blythswood Square in the centre of Glasgow
Smith broke the strict Victorian rules and expectations of the time when she began a secret love affair with Pierre Emile L’Angelier, an apprentice nurseryman.
Her parents didn’t know about the affair and chose a husband for her. Madeline therefore had to leave Emilie but he threatened to reveal the letters. He died not long after of arsenic poisoning. Madeleine’s letters were found in his rooms and so she was charged with murder.
The alleged crime and trial were scandalous enough for Smith to leave Scotland. She remarried and when that marriage ended, she moved to New York and ,married again. She died in 1928
Booktrail Boarding Pass: The Strange Affair of Madeleine Smith
Destination: Glasgow, Edinburgh Author/Guide: Douglas MacGowan Departure Time: 1857
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