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In the final episode of the series, Lucy Worsley puts true crime itself on trial. Why are we so fascinated by stories of murder, violence, and scandal and was it ever thus? Is true crime guilty of sensationalism and stereotyping, or can it reveal something more profound about society, culture, and ourselves? Lucy is joined by her all-female team of detectives, in-house historian Professor Rosalind Crone and guest detective Hannah Maguire, co-host of the hit podcast RedHanded. Together they exami...
Lucy Worsley meets Kitty Newton, a daughter accused of killing her very own mother. With her team of all female detectives, Lucy uncovers long buried secrets in the Newton family - but could these truly be the motive for such a terrible crime? Would a daughter really kill her very own mother? If so, why? It is 1848, in the chill depths of winter. In the early hours of the morning a servant, Mary Corfield, stumbles upon a grisly discovery - the lifeless, charred body of an elderly lady, Ann Newto...
Join Lucy Worsley and her all-female team as she delves into the Hampstead Tragedy, one of the most notorious murder cases of the Victorian era. When the horrifically mutilated body of a young mother called Phoebe Hogg is found dumped by the side of a street in north London in October 1890, the press erupts into a frenzy of speculation that Jack the Ripper has struck again. But it soon becomes clear to the police that the suspected killer is not a man, but a young woman called Mary Pearcey, a fr...
Lucy Worsley meets Jessie McLachlan, a woman accused of murdering one of her friends in Glasgow in 1862. There’s no obvious motive, but if she didn’t do it, who did? To investigate this infamous case, Lucy is joined by stellar barrister Jennifer Robinson, co-author of Silenced Women: Why the Law Fails Women and How to Fight Back, who has represented actor Amber Heard and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, working on cases that span media, public and international law. The victim in this distressi...
This episode explores the sensational 1930s murder trial of socialite Elvira Barney, accused of shooting her lover Michael Scott Stephen. It delves into her drug and alcohol-fueled lifestyle as one of the 'Bright Young Things,' the dramatic court proceedings, and her shocking acquittal. The hosts reflect on how class privilege influenced the outcome and Elvira's eventual tragic end.
Lucy Worsley looks at the crimes of women from the 19th and early 20th centuries from a contemporary, feminist perspective. In this episode, we hear the story of Cloe, a black enslaved teenager who lives with the Carothers family, Andrew, Mary and their 11 children, on their farm in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Cloe is worked to the bone, constantly beaten by her mistress and sneaked on by the children. Over the course of a week, she drowns two of the family’s youngest children, Lucetta and ...
Lucy Worsley is back with a new series of Lady Killers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. This time Lucy heads to Dorset to explore the life of Martha Brown, a victim of domestic violence, accused of murdering her husband John in 1856. Martha’s story goes on to inspire Thomas Hardy’s novel Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Martha initially claims John was kicked to death by his horse, but eventually confesses to his murder, revealing the long history of abuse she suffered at his hands. Wil...
Lucy Worsley investigates the 1831 case of Elizabeth Cook, accused of murdering her lodger, Caroline Walsh, whose body mysteriously vanished. Joined by Chief Crown Prosecutor Jaswant Narwal and historian Professor Rosalind Crone, Lucy explores the challenges of prosecuting a "no body" case and the dark practice of body snatching in 19th-century London. The episode delves into the compelling and questionable evidence, including testimony from Cook's 12-year-old son, and examines what this historical case reveals about poverty, justice, and women's lives.
Lucy Worsley investigates a Victorian family mystery, prompted by a listener whose great-great-aunt, Amelia Haslett, committed a murder-suicide. Through historical records, on-site visits, and psychiatric analysis, the team uncovers the Hazlitt family's struggles, Amelia's difficult maternal role, and potential underlying factors like early loss and an unconfirmed pregnancy, seeking a deeper, more compassionate understanding of the tragic event.
In this special live episode from the Hay Festival, Lucy Worsley and guests Sarah Waters and Professor Rosalind Crone explore how real-life female killers inspired great literature. They delve into the stories of Edith Thompson, Maria Manning, and Margaret Garner, examining how these women's lives were reimagined by authors like Sarah Waters, Charles Dickens, and Toni Morrison. The discussion highlights the power of historical fiction to convey complex truths and offers a contemporary feminist perspective on crime.
In the final episode of season two of Lady Swindlers, Lucy Worsley and her partner in crime, Professor Rosalind Crone, are joined by novelist and game designer Naomi Alderman, author of the award-winning book, The Power. Together they explore one curious question - did our Lady Swindlers have superpowers? From the strength and agility of Minnie Pheby, the Lady Burglar, to the psychic abilities of the Fox Sisters, these women used their talents to surprise, deceive and outwit the men around them....
Lucy Worsley is back with another episode of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to revisit the audacious and surprising crimes of swindlers, hustlers and women on the make. Women trying to make it in a world made for men. In this episode, Lucy is delving into the life of Elizabeth Manning, a daring Lady Swindler known as a hocusser, who spikes men’s drinks and empties their pockets in Vic...
Lucy Worsley is back with another episode of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to revisit the audacious and surprising crimes of swindlers, hustlers and women on the make. Women trying to make it in a world made for men. In this episode, Lucy is exploring the lodging houses and pawnbrokers of Victorian London on the trail of French art thief Amelie Decuzpere. She and her husband Paul mak...
Lucy Worsley returns with her new series of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history, with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to meet women who stepped outside of their ordinary lives to do extraordinary things. Together they investigate what their lives and crimes tell us about women in the past, and ask how different is it for women today? In this episode Lucy travels to New York to uncover the story of spirit mediums Maggie, Kate an...
Lucy Worsley meets Minnie Pheby, a strong and agile young woman who defies all the gender stereotypes of Victorian society – not a homemaker, but a homebreaker. She’s the devil compared with the idealised ‘angel in the house’, sneaking into middle class homes in the dead of night. In West London as the Victorian era draws to a close, Minnie sleeps on a pillow of stolen dresses in a squat furnished with life’s little luxuries, all the proceeds of crime. Lucy is joined by former Detective Chief In...
Lucy Worsley returns with another episode of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. Joined by historian Ros Crone and comedian, activist and author Deborah Frances-White, Lucy revisits the stories of women who defied societal norms through audacious crimes. They also discuss what their own swindler names would be. This episode focuses on Celia Cooney, the Bobbed Haired Bandit of 1920s New York; Mary Bateman, the Yorkshire Witch, whose supernatural scams turned deadly; Cat...
Lucy Worsley is back with a brand new series of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to revisit the audacious and surprising crimes of swindlers, hustlers and women on the make. Women trying to make it in a world made for men. In this episode Lucy is investigating the bobbed hair and flapper dresses of New York’s Jazz Age, on the heels of a 20 year old bandit, Celia Cooney. She and her husb...
Lucy Worsley is back with a brand new series of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to revisit the audacious and surprising crimes of swindlers, hustlers and women on the make. Women trying to make it in a world made for men. In this episode Lucy is exploring the life of Catharine Murphy, a single mother of three children who has a small business making counterfeit coins on her kitchen tab...
Lucy Worsley continues her new series of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history, with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to tail scammers, crooks, conwomen and convicts. Women from all walks of life, who find themselves on the wrong side of the law. In this episode, Lucy is investigating Annie Gordon Baillie, a serial swindler who has over 40 aliases. She cons everyone from the milkman to government ministers. She specialises in pett...
Lucy Worsley is back with a brand new series of Lady Swindlers, where true crime meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back more than a hundred years to revisit the audacious and surprising crimes of swindlers, hustlers and women on the make. Women trying to make it in a world made for men. In this first episode, Lucy is investigating the life of Mary Bateman who is living in Leeds in the first decade of the 19th century - a time when, despite huge leaps...
Lucy Worsle digs into the lives of bold women who choose - by hook or by crook - to escape a life of poverty, misfortune and hardship. This episode highlights the fascinating tales of four invincible women. Sophie Lyons, a bank robber who, by the power of the American Dream, turns into a philanthropist. Madam Rachel, a beautician who combines fraudulent treatments with a deep understanding of women's insecurities to dupe an elite clientele. Ann Mary Provis, a bright artist who deceives the Royal...
In this new series Lucy Worsley switches her attention from Lady Killers to Lady Swindlers - con women, thieves and hustlers. This time Lucy is investigating the case of Ann Mary Provis, an obscure young artist in Georgian London who has the leading painters of her day - including the President of the Royal Academy - eating out of her hand. She claims to know the ‘secret’ of how great Renaissance painters, like Titian, achieved intense colour and luminosity. But Ann Mary isn’t going to part with...
In this new series Lucy Worsley switches her attention from Lady Killers to Lady Swindlers - con women, thieves and hustlers. This is where true crime meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travel back in time to revisit the audacious and surprising crimes of women trying to make it in a world made for men. In this episode Lucy is investigating the life of Fanny Davies, a thief who will take everything you have, including your trousers. A pickpocket and prostitu...
In this new series Lucy Worsley switches her attention from Lady Killers to Lady Swindlers - con women, thieves and hustlers. This is where true crime meets history - with a twist. Lucy and her team of all female detectives travels back more than a hundred years to revisit the audacious and surprising crimes of women trying to make it in a world made for men. This time Lucy is in London telling the story of Madame Rachel - Sarah Rachel Russell - an utterly ruthless Victorian beauty scammer and b...
In this episode of Lady Swindlers, Lucy Worsley is exploring the life of Sophie Lyons, pickpocket, blackmailer and conwoman extraordinaire, known as the infamous Queen of the Underworld. Born in Germany in the late 1840s, aged 8 Sophie moves to New York, USA. She is taught from an early age to steal and pickpockets, and is in jail from the young age of 12. She becomes a career criminal, constantly crafting new schemes and disguises to make money. But in her later years, Sophie has a change of he...
Lucy Worsley, historian Professor Rosalind Crone and author and journalist Helen Lewis, explore the lives of four notorious Lady Swindlers. They’ll be discussing underworld boss Tilly Devine, fake heiress Violet Charlesworth, queen of shoplifting Alice Diamond and fake Princess Mary Baker a.k.a. “Princess Caraboo”. These women - through cunning and bravado - carve out notorious reputations and leave unforgettable legacies that we’re still talking about today. Lucy and her guests imagine what our...
In this episode of Lady Swindlers, Lucy Worsley meets Violet Charlesworth, an heiress with a taste for the high life. From her family home in North Wales, Violet drives the length and breadth of the country in her expensive motorcars, accompanied by pedigree pooches and dripping with diamonds. Lucy asks: is there more to her than meets the eye? She is joined by iconic crime writer Denise Mina (‘Garnethill Trilogy’, ‘Three Fires’) and Lady Swindlers in-house historian Professor Rosalind Crone to ...
Lucy Worsley investigates the career of one of Sydney’s most notorious gangsters, Tilly Devine. Draped in furs and encrusted in jewels, she’s the madam of one of the most lucrative brothel networks the city’s ever seen. What brings Tilly from south London to Sydney? How does she rise to the top of the city’s ruthless, gritty 1920s gangster crime scene? To track Tilly’s story, Lucy is joined by historian Leigh Straw and Guest Detective Christine Nixon, the first female chief commissioner in an Au...
