The Shrigley Abduction: A shocking Victorian true crime story
In one of the most notorious crimes of the 19th century, fifteen-year-old heiress Ellen Turner was abducted from school and forced to marry Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a social climbing diplomat with an eye on her inheritance. In this compelling true crime story, authors Audrey Jones and Abby Ashby unveil a story of cunning deception and
In one of the most notorious crimes of the 19th century, fifteen-year-old heiress Ellen Turner was abducted from school and forced to marry Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a social climbing diplomat with an eye on her inheritance.
In this compelling true crime story, authors Audrey Jones and Abby Ashby unveil a story of cunning deception and explore how the lure of high society created a terrifying chain of events in 1826. They reveal how, despite spending years in jail for kidnapping a schoolgirl, Wakefield was incredibly still able to enjoy a fruitful political career colonising New Zealand, while his innocent victim would die four years later.
In a tale that has echoes in today’s social climate, The Shrigley Abduction is a compellingly told account of the scandal and outrage surrounding this audacious Victorian crime.
Praise for The Shrigley Abduction…
‘A true story, though stranger than fiction…’ Manchester Evening News
Bestsellers 2021
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Fascinating book Arrived promptly and in good condition. Enjoyed the true story (possibly embellished) very much. Incite into how a spell in prison can focus a member of the upper classes into recognising the plight of some of the lower classes, in this case those awaiting transportation, and trigger them in time to helping in reform. This was 1826 but could, perhaps, be similar now. How about the more corrupt of our bankers having a spell in prison!
Extremely interesting. Very interesting story. I lived at Shrigley hall from 1958 to 1961 and knew nothing of this crime.
Extraordinary tale This book has it all. Derring do, naïveté, brazen fraudulence and chutzpah. Edward Gibbon Wakefield should probably have ‘dastardly cad’ as his epitaph! But after being imprisoned for the abduction he was a founder of the South Australian Co and the New Zealand company, where he is revered for establishing non- convict colonies.