The dead duke, his secret wife, and the missing corpse : an extraordinary Edwardian case of deception and intrigue

Book 2015

"One of the most notorious and bizarre mysteries of the Edwardian age, for readers who loved The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher. At the close of the Victorian era, as now, privacy was power. The extraordinarily wealthy 5th Duke of Portland had a mania for it, hiding in his horsedrawn carriage and creating tunnels between buildings to avoid being seen. So when, in 1897, an elderly widow asked the court to exhume the grave of her late father-in-law, T.C...

Item Details & Discovery

Explore Topics & Themes:

Fraud England History 19th century

Great Britain History Edward VII, 1901-1910 Biography

Missing persons England History 19th century

Portland, William John Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck, Duke of, 1800-1879 Death and burial

Privacy Social aspects England History 19th century

Secrecy Social aspects England History 19th century

Trials (Fraud) England History 19th century

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Biographies

View technical details & catalog information

ISBN:

9781781856109
9781631492310
9781631491238
1631491237

Edition:

First American edition

Description:

xiii, 338 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references

Contents:

Dramatis personae
Act One: Burial
Scene One: Welbeck Abbey, December 1879
Scene Two: St. Paul's Cathedral, March 1898
Scene Three: Highgate Cemetery, March 1898
Scene Four: Baker Street and Cavendish Square, 1860s
Scene Five: The streets of London, Summer 1898
Scene Six: Featherstone Buildings, December 1898
Scene Seven: The New London Law Courts, three years later
Act Two: Resurrection
Scene Eight: Bury St. Edmunds, October 1816
Scene Nine: On board RMS Oroya, May 1903
Scene Ten: An office on London Wall, March 1907
Scene Eleven: Marylebone Police Court, October/December 1907
Scene Twelve: The Druce Vault, December 1907
Scene Thirteen: The Police Court, one week later
Act Three: Revelation
Scene Fourteen: London and Welbeck, December 1907
Scene Fifteen: London and Worksop, January 1908
Scene Sixteen: Holloway Prison, January 1908
Scene Seventeen: A London hotel, September 1898
Scene Eighteen: Sledmere House, East Riding, 1870s
Scene Nineteen: A library in Nottingham, October 2013
Scene Twenty: Welbeck Abbey, October 2013
Epilogue: An obscure grave, London, December 2013
Postscript

LCCN:

2015024557

Control Number:

1576665

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