Today in the Pace case: 16 November 1890

16 November 1890: The date of birth of Harry Pace.

The only image of Harry Pace that was published  by the press in 1928. 

The Most Remarkable Woman in the Guardian

In today's Guardian, there's a very thoughtful review by Tessa Hadley of The Most Remarkable Woman in England.

It opens like this:

Sometimes life is better than fiction. Is there any novelist who could have got this extraordinary story so perfectly right, inventing it: the violence at the heart of it, the suspense, the succession of revelations, the passions so raw and inchoate that they have a mythic force? And then there's the grand sweep of the narrative, beginning in the bleak poverty of an obscure cottage in the Forest of Dean, acted out finally on the national stage.

The rest is certainly also worth your time, and the review also features a wonderful photo of part of the crowd gathered outside the Gloucester Shire Hall upon Beatrice Pace's acquittal.

Today in the Pace case: 24 October 1927

Monday, 24 October, 1927: Harry Pace is released from Gloucester Royal Infirmary after a little over two months' stay. He returns to his home, Rose Cottage, where he is tended to by Beatrice.

Today in the Pace case: 24 October 1889

24 October 1889: The birthdate of Beatrice Pace (or, as she was known then, Beatrice Martin).

Today in the Pace case: 23 October 1909

23 October 1909: Beatrice Martin and Harry Pace were married at the Monmouth register office.

The Most Remarkable Woman's Hour

I will be appearing tomorrow (Wednesday, 17 October) on BBC Radio 4's programme 'Woman's Hour' to talk about The Most Remarkable Woman in England.

The programme will be available live ('Woman's Hour' is broadcast between 10 and 10.45am GMT) online via the BBC website. If you can't make time to listen live, however, it will be available on the iPlayer soon after broadcast.

I've had some very nice chats with the show's producers in recent weeks and am looking forward to the interview and meeting host Jenni Murray!

[UPDATE]: Here's a direct link to my segment (or, 'chapter') on the show.

The Most Remarkable Woman in England: Available in the UK, US and Europe

"Compelling."

"Such a page turner."

"Absolutely fabulous." 

These are a few of the verdicts that I have received in emails from British readers of my book, The Most Remarkable Woman in England: Poison, Celebrity and the Trials of Beatrice Pace.

So, I'm pleased to announce that, just over a month after its UK release, the book is now available in the US/Canada and in continental Europe.

In the UK, details and ordering information for the reasonably priced paperback edition are available direct from Manchester University Press. It is also available--at various discounts--from online retailers such as Amazon.co.uk, Blackwells and Waterstones, as well, of course, via ordering through your local bookshop.

In the US, the book is being distributed by Macmillan and is available directly from them. Or, of course, from Amazon, other on-line retailers or, again, via ordering through your local bookshop. For the moment, it may be that US orders take a bit longer than would be ideal. Keep in mind that the book is from a university press based in the UK.

But the best signal for them to stock up is to get your orders in.

If you're looking for more immediate gratification, there is already a fair amount of information on the case on this blog, and you may also wish to 'like' The Most Remarkable Woman in England at its Facebook page: if so, please encourage your friends to do the same!

I will be posting updates here and at the Facebook page of any reviews or commentaries on the book and of any future book-related events and developments.

And if you do enjoy the book (which I hope very much), I encourage you to say so via online reviews, comments in social media (Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, etc.), blogs you may contribute to, and, of course, in that trusty old means of communication: conversation. As a book from a university press, word-of-mouth advertising (amplified electronically) is going to make all the difference!

Scenes from a remarkable book launch

A little over two weeks ago, the third British Crime Historians Symposium was held at The Open University in (ever-scenic) Milton Keynes.

I was very pleased that the conference organisers had put together a triple book-launch event, co-sponsored by Manchester University Press, for The Most Remarkable Woman in England, Rosalind Crone's Violent Victorians and Janet Clark's The National Council for Civil Liberties and the Policing of Interwar Politics.

A few photos from the evening:

Here, first, a stack of most remarkable women...

...next to some violent Victorians and ardent civil-liberties activists.

I'm pleased to say that all three stacks became significantly smaller in the course of the evening...

...through sales such as this one.

All three of us were very honoured that Clive Emsley, emeritus Open University professor and, as noted at the conference, doyen of police history, agreed to introduce our books in his inimitable style.

During Clive's talk, my crime-historian colleagues listened attentively while gathered strategically near the wine table....

...where Clive and I, of course, then joined them.

It was through a happy coincidence that three OU-connected books on criminal justice history were released by the same publisher in time to be introduced at  the conference.

Many thanks to Manchester University Press for contributing to the event and my former Open University colleagues for the great organisational work in putting the event together!

The Most Remarkable Woman: Now Available (in the UK)

The day is finally here!

Today marks the official UK release of The Most Remarkable Woman in England: Poison, Celebrity and the Trials of Beatrice Pace. (The book will be available in the US/Canada from 2 October. I'll keep things updated here with any further information.)

Details and ordering information for the reasonably priced paperback edition are available direct from Manchester University Press.

The book is also available--at various discounts--from online retailers such as Amazon.co.uk, Blackwells and Waterstones, as well, of course, via ordering through your local bookshop.

Any messages of the '(almost) out of stock' variety should be taken with a grain of salt: the books have been printed and should either be in or on their way to the relevant warehouses. At most, a little patience might be required at the start.

I will continue to keep making updates here at the blog in the coming months, and please, if you have questions or comments please let me know at the address listed to the right.

You may also wish to 'like' The Most Remarkable Woman in England at its Facebook page: if so, please encourage your friends to do the same!

And if you do enjoy the book (which I hope very much), please say so via online reviews, comments in social media (Goodreads, etc.), blogs you may contribute to, and, of course, in that trusty old means of communication: conversation. As a book from a university press, word-of-mouth advertising (amplified electronically) is going to make all the difference.

Finally, if anybody does run across commentary on the book, I'd be happy if you let me know.

Now: get reading!

Should any further introduction be needed...

Regular readers of this blog will have a pretty good idea of what The Most Remarkable Woman in England is about.

However, should anyone be looking for a succinct introduction (or seeking a quick refresher), Manchester University Press has posted a brief introduction today on their blog.

It's worth reading!

Today in the Pace Case: 19 August 1927

Friday, 19 August 1927: After nearly a month of abdominal pains and partial paralysis Harry Pace is admitted to the Gloucester Royal Infirmary.

Shortly before, the Pace family's local doctor, William Henry Du Pré, and another physician, Ram Nath Nanda, had diagnosed the sick man as suffering from 'peripheral neuritis'.

Harry is so weak that he needs to be carried in a blanket to the car that will take him to hospital.

First confirmed sighting of the Most Remarkable Woman in England

Thanks to the Twitter activities of my editor at Manchester University Press, I can share the first confirmed sighting of The Most Remarkable Woman in England.

I think it looks excellent.

And it will, of course, look even better up close, i.e., when you have it in your own hands.

Information as to its availability to follow.

But it's very exciting to know that it finally exists in physical form!

Today in the Pace case: 17 August

Friday, 17 August 1928: It is reported in several newspapers—such as the Evening News, Daily Chronicle, Daily Mail, Daily News and Daily Telegraph—that Scotland Yard is reopening its inquiries into the death of Harry Pace.

Today in the Pace case: 12 August

Sunday, 12 August 1928: The sixth part of Beatrice’s serialised memoir appears in the Sunday Express, titled 'The Beginning of a New Life'.

My housekeeping money used to very between 15s. and £1 a week. Sometimes it was 10s., and sometimes it was nothing. And on that I had to feed Harry, myself, and the children. Most of the money used to go on tea, sugar, bread, milk, lard to fry in and sometimes a little butter for the bread. I and the children used to live almost entirely on boiled potatoes and friend onion, while I took care that Harry used to have bacon, eggs and cheese. (Sunday Express, 12 August 1928, p. 12.)

Today in the Pace case: 5 August

Sunday, 5 August 1928: The fifth part of Beatrice’s serialised memoir appears in the Sunday Express under the title 'A Talk to Those About to Marry'.

I try to think of what I felt as a young girl married to such a man, and when I think of it now, as a woman of thirty-seven, I wonder how it was that I stuck it for so long. Week in, week out, month in, month out, year in, year out—nothing but work, meals, rows, and beatings. [...]

There was the continual trouble of getting food, and of seeing that Harry had the best of anything that was in the house. I knew that when he came home from work he would be hungry and tired, and probably in a bad temper, and I was always on the watch to please him.

Sometimes, when I would see him coming over the fields with that walk that I knew meant a thrashing for me, I would go to meet him, and tell him of something special that I had got for his supper.

It used to happen, now and again, that by doing that I escaped a beating, and it used to happen that sometimes I did not. [...]

Pancakes were the great things to put him in a good temper, and whatever were my housekeeping difficulties, I nearly always contrived to have in the house materials for making them. If I felt trouble in the air (like our dog, Rover, I often sensed Harry’s moods beforehand), I would hurry to get some pancakes ready, and then run to meet Harry so soon as I saw him coming across the fields. (Sunday Express, 5 August 1928, p. 15)