"The trial which terminated yesterday...revealed one of the strangest and most horrible stories possibly ever told in a court of justice." (Morning Post). When the news broke in 1871 of a series of mysterious poisonings in Brighton, shock and horror gripped the Victorian public. Even more disturbing was the revelation that the culprit was not a common criminal but rather a local 'lady of fortune' called Christiana Edmunds. From March 1871 Christiana had sent out dozens of poisoned chocolates and sweets to Brighton's residents. Her campaign resulted in the death of four-year-old holidaymaker Sidney Barker, and wounded countless others. Her arrest in August 1871 provoked such an emotional response from the local public that her trial was moved from Brighton to London's Old Bailey. The prosecution anticipated an easy victory. Christiana had not confessed, but witnesses confirmed that she had purchased strychnine and their testimonies placed her at the scene of the crimes. She had a motive too, argued the prosecution; she was a scorned woman.Despite the best efforts of the defence, the jury took only one hour to convict her of the murder of Sidney Barker and the attempted murder of three others. In a last dramatic twist, Christiana was reprieved after being declared insane by the Home Office and lived out her days in Broadmoor. Alongside Christiana's case, the book will offer a snapshot of life in Brighton, one of Victorian England's busiest and most popular leisure resorts. However, this wholesome holiday destination also had a steamy underworld of sexual licence, which reached even seemingly secure middle-class young women.

When Dan Brown's novel, The Da Vinci Code, was published, it did something that many biblical scholars were not able to do. It posed difficult questions about the role of women in Jesus' life and in the early church, and brought these questions to the forefront of biblical conversations. Many grew up with only a sketchy acquaintance with the many women whose stories march through the pages of the Old and New Testaments. Their stories were not told, and their heroism was unsung. Today, however, more and more scholars are turning their attention to the stories of those women of valor. Nowhere are they as prominent and as central as in the Gospel of John. Judith Kaye Jones contends that the Gospel of John does not just include stories about women, it is structured around stories of women. In this unique testament, women and their encounters with Jesus provide the framework for the central message of Jesus.

Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour. During the year 1066, England had three different kings and fought three huge battles in defence of the realm, including the bloody Battle of Hastings. The result was the Norman Conquest which defined England during the Middle Ages. 1066 in an Hour will guide you through the politics and personalities of the Norman invasion. It will help you understand why William the Conqueror was victorious and introduce you to the new king and subsequent ancestor to the Plantagenets and Tudors. Love history? Know your stuff with History in an Hour...