The Murder of Harriet Monckton
Page 46
In the interests of furthering the plot, I have also changed the dates of some marriages and pregnancies:
Harriet’s brother William and his wife Ann had their first child in October 1844, which would have been too late for Harriet to hear of the pregnancy in the weeks before she died. They named their daughter Harriet.
Richard and Maria actually married on 24th July 1842, a year earlier than suggested in the novel. Their second child, which in my fictional version arrived immediately after the verdict in May 1846, was actually born in 1847, a boy named Ebenezer. Maria’s maiden name, according to the marriage records, was Grieff; discovering this enabled me to find her in the 1841 census, where her occupation is given as ‘FS’ – female servant. That she was a schoolteacher, and previously a friend of Harriet’s, is therefore also my own invention.
For interest, the letter following is a transcription of one of the contemporary documents mentioned in this Afterword (part of TS 25/218). There are undoubtedly further documents in relation to Harriet’s case in existence, and I am sure that there are many more omissions and inaccuracies than I have mentioned here. Any mistakes in relation to the text are, therefore, due to the limitations of my own research as well as to the need to produce a dramatic fictionalisation based on a true story.
Greenwich
12th January 1846
Sir,
I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Mr S. M. Phillipps’s communication of the 29th ulto respecting the Inquest on the body of Harriet Monckton wherein […] I am decided to state for your Information the name of the person suspected and the circumstances which were communicated to me from time to time that the party suspected evinced great anxiety for the termination of the Inquiry and also the mode in which those circumstances were communicated to me and further to transmit a exact copy of all the Evidence taken at the Inquest.
I beg to state that the person suspected is The Reverend George Verrall the Minister of the Chapel at Bromley in the Privy at the rear of which the body of the deceased was found.
The circumstances of suspicion attaching to this Individual and the manner in which they have from time to time been brought under my knowledge and consideration are these: That prior to the cause of the deceased’s absence from her home being ascertained this party suggested that she had committed suicide.
That the body having been discovered under circumstances detailed in the Evidence the same party at the first meeting of the Jury expressed a desire to avoid a post-mortem examination in a manner so earnest as to lead me to make a Note of it.
That the post-mortem examination having been made it was ascertained that the deceased was about six months advanced in pregnancy and had died from the effects of Prussic acid.
That the party was a constant and apparently anxious attendant at every meeting of the Jury suggesting from time to time questions to be put to the Witnesses for the purpose of leading to a belief that the deceased had committed suicide altho’ the state in which the body was found and the whole tenor of the Evidence at that time given were quite opposed to any such conclusion.
That the party having become a Witness in the Inquiry it came out that the day preceding that of her absence from her home the deceased and himself had been closeted together in the Vestry Room of the Chapel for some time under circumstances that could not fail to make a strong impression on my mind.
That having come to a determination that for the furtherance of the ends of Justice the best course to adopt would be to adjourn the Inquest for a sufficient Interval to admit of additional evidence being produced or new facts bearing upon the case discovered, during that Interval, an anonymous Letter signed ‘Chemicus’ was addressed to me under cover to the Revd. Dr. Scott of Bromley the Magistrate – this letter was suspected to be the production of the Revd. Geo. Verrall which suspicion was subsequently confirmed by comparing the Letter with the party’s handwriting.
That a more extended adjournment having been decided upon the High Constable of Bromley Mr Joyce (who had charge of the Case) communicated to me that the party had expressed to him annoyance at the further postponement, and an anxious desire that the proceedings should be closed as no additional evidence was likely to be produced, alleging also that he wished to leave Bromley for a time but could not go until the enquiry was over for if he did ‘people would say he was the man’.
That since the last adjournment the High Constable has on several occasions mentioned to me the continued anxiety of the party for the termination of the Enquiry stating also that some of the Jury had expressed a similar desire, but as several of them were Members of the Reverend George Verrall’s Chapel and it was known to me that some one or more of them had divulged to him the private deliberations of the Jury with myself which it had been agreed should be kept secret, pending proposed inquiries, I hesitated to act upon any recommendation from that quarter, tending to close the enquiry upon the present unsatisfactory state of the Evidence whilst there appeared to me a hope that time might throw further light upon a Case wrapped in so much mystery and suspicion.
I forward a copy of the Letter signed ‘Chemicus’ bearing the post mark of Nov. 18th 1843 also a copy of a Letter received by me from the Revd. George Verrall dated 23rd January 1844 with copy of its enclosure […] and I also forward as requested a correct copy of all the Evidence taken at the Inquest.
The Right Hon’ble (signed) Chas. J. Carttar
Sir James Graham Bart., M.P. Coroner for Kent
Acknowledgements
First and foremost my best thanks to Candida Lacey, editor, publisher and friend, who has championed Harriet from the very beginning. She helped me explore the possibilities of the story whilst insisting that I was, in fact, qualified to write it. Thank you for all of the encouragement, the Skypes, the unfailing commitment to bringing Harriet back into the light.
Thank you, too, to my genius editor and friend, Linda McQueen, who transformed my words from a hideous tangle into something coherent and glorious, whilst remaining serene and calming at all times.
Additional grateful thanks to Dawn Sackett for her conscientious and skilful proofreading.
Many people had my transcriptions of the original documents thrust upon them, and provided encouragement and ideas as a result. For this, my grateful thanks are due to Gina Haynes, Lindsay Brown, Katie Gatward, Paul Hiscock, Linda Weeks, Lisa Cutts, Vicky Allen, Denise West, Donna-Louise Clarke, Jo Hinton Malivoire, Helen Nash and Danny Gregory, and of course my fabulous agent, Annette Green.
Grateful thanks to Nicki Herring and Helen Treacy, who both provided midwifery expertise in relation to Harriet’s and Maria’s pregnancies. Nicki also helped me trawl through the Kent Archives.
Very special thanks to Sarah M’Grady, who accompanied me on a memorable research trip to Bromley, took much better photos than I ever could, and helped me pick up all the receipts in the parish churchyard when Harriet pulled them out of my purse.
In the course of that same research trip I visited Bromley United Reformed Church, and was welcomed by Stephen Fellingham, Local Church Leader, who gave me a tour and furnished me with a book about the church’s history, which proved to be invaluable to my research. The book also included a picture of George Verrall in later life – the only photograph I have seen of any of my protagonists, as far as I am aware. I am so grateful to him, not only for the assistance, but more importantly for his kindness and genuine warmth. I had been expecting to find the church chilly and haunting, but it is in fact a vibrant, inclusive and welcoming place, which I highly encourage you to visit. In the interests of telling Harriet’s story I have taken liberties with the characters of George and Sarah Verrall, who cannot now answer for themselves; and in particular with George’s use of the Bible to justify his nefarious behaviour. My sincerest apologies for this, and I trust the reader will understand that my story casts no reflection whatsoever on the church and its work in present day Bromley.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to
Lucy Bonner and Anita Luxton at the Bromley Historic Collection, who were extremely helpful; they pointed me in the direction of the Baxter cuttings and ELS Horsburgh’s Bromley, Kent: From the Earliest Times to The Present Century, both of which proved most enlightening.
Thank you to Sally Ann Taylor, who provided some useful insight into the events surrounding Harriet’s death, and her relationships with those around her. I felt much closer to Harriet as a result of our meeting.
Grateful thanks are due also to Susan Allen, who has helped me enormously with genealogical research, and thank you to Andrew Taylor for answering a crucial research question at a very late stage.
Thank you to the Writers’ HQ and to the brilliant Alexa Radcliffe-Hart, whose encouragement at one of the Cambridge Writers’ Retreats enabled me to write the entire Confession in a single day.
As always, the process of writing is made easier by the support and encouragement of my fellow Norfolk novelists: Vicky Allen, Denise West, Donna-Louise Clarke, Jo Hinton Malivoire and Hayley Webster, thank you all. Thank you to everyone at the Alby Tearooms for allowing us the space to be creative, and keeping us sustained with tea and cake while we do it.
In particular, I am immensely grateful to the fabulous Jo Hinton Malivoire for creating the beautiful map at the start of this book. I cried happy tears when I saw it. Thank you.
Thank you so much to my coach, the brilliant Andrea Bell, who has quite revolutionised my way of working; that Harriet was ever finished at all is entirely down to her. Thank you, Andrea. I hope you like the book!
Special thanks are due to my dear friend Samantha Bowles, who shared Harriet with me from the very beginning. If Harriet had lived today, I like to think she would have enjoyed an afternoon with cocktails in our company, and been a good friend to us both.
Finally, posthumous thanks to Harriet, for allowing me to write your story. I hope I’ve done you proud.
About the Author
Elizabeth Haynes is a former police intelligence analyst. Her first novel, Into the Darkest Corner, has been published in 37 countries. It was Amazon’s Best Book of the Year and a New York Times bestseller. She has written a further three psychological thrillers – Revenge of the Tide, Human Remains and Never Alone – and two novels in the DCI Louisa Smith series, Under a Silent Moon and Behind Closed Doors.
By the Same Author
Into the Darkest Corner
Revenge of the Tide
Human Remains
Under a Silent Moon
Behind Closed Doors
Never Alone
Copyright
First published in 2018 by
Myriad Editions
www.myriadeditions.com
Myriad Editions
An imprint of New Internationalist Publications
The Old Music Hall, 106–108 Cowley Rd,
Oxford OX4 1JE
Copyright © Elizabeth Haynes 2018
The moral right of the author has been asserted
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN (hardback): 978–1–912408–03–0
ISBN (trade paperback): 978–1–912408–04–7
ISBN (ebook): 978–1–912408–05–4
Designed and typeset in Perpetua
by WatchWord Editorial Services, London
Map of Bromley 1843 by Jo Hinton Malivoire