Chapters (90)
- PROLOGUE
- 1849
- ONE
- TWO
- EDINBURGH
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EPILOGUE
- HISTORICAL NOTE
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
- Extract from A Corruption of Blood
- 1850
- ONE
‘Good morning, Mary. I am Dr Skae. As your lawyer Mr Nicholson will have explained to you, I am here to listen to your account of your actions and to advise upon whether you might be regarded as fit to stand trial upon these charges. Do you understand?’
She nodded.
‘I would advise you to be as forthcoming, honest and cooperative as possible, as we agreed,’ Nicholson told her.
There had been some discussion two days before, regarding the extent to which the lawyer should brief her ahead of this session. The McNaughton Rule offering her only chance to avoid the rope, Findlay was concerned that she had incentive therefore to feign a degree of madness. Skae had assured the fiscal that he was adept at detecting pretence, and warned Nicholson that such behaviour was likely to be interpreted as proof that she was of sound mind.
‘On my left here is Dr Drake,’ Skae told her. ‘He will be transcribing all that you say, so that we have a record of your account that can be reviewed later. But before we commence, might I enquire if you are healthy, and whether you have been treated well?’
‘I have stayed in better accommodations, where I have been treated worse,’ she replied.
‘It is important that you feel comfortable and able to talk freely. That you do not feel intimidated.’
She smiled, as though grateful for his concern but eager to dismiss it.
He had encountered patients who did not experience human emotions the way others did. A sign that they had no empathy was often that they did not feel fear.
‘You seem calm, despite what is at stake here. Do you know what it is to be afraid, Mary?’ he asked.
She sat up straight and cleared her throat.
‘There is not a woman in this realm who does not understand what it is to be afraid,’ she began. ‘No, not even she who reigns over us, for she was not born sovereign …’
HISTORICAL NOTE
ames Young Simpson was Professor of Midwifery at Edinburgh University and lived with his family and various pets at 52 Queen Street from 1845 until his death in 1870. The anaesthetic properties of chloroform were discovered in his dining room on 4 November 1847. His name became synonymous with this discovery, which became a point of contention for those who felt they had contributed to it but were denied the recognition that they were due.
In 1852, Simpson was accused by Professor William Henderson, Professor James Miller and Dr James Matthews Duncan of negligently contributing to the death of a patient by the name of Mrs Johnstone, wife of a doctor and fellow resident of Queen Street. A bloodstained mattress was cited as evidence. In response to this Simpson published a pamphlet comprising all the correspondence pertaining to the incident, including a letter from the patient’s husband which exonerated him completely and finally laid the matter to rest.