Attired in Deepest Mourning

Having read “By Force of Circumstances” by Malcolm Moyes, I was eager to read this second book – and I was not disappointed. “Attired in Deepest Mourning” examines the cases of three women in 19th century Lincolnshire, who were sentenced to be executed by hanging, in Lincoln, for murder. Even though I knew a little about Lincoln Castle as the prison of Victorian Lincoln, I hadn’t really thought about where condemned prisoners were hanged and buried, nor how they spent heir final days, with the shadow of death over them and within sight of the gallows. My visits to Lincoln Castle from this point onwards, will have a different perspective, thanks to what I have learned from this excellent account. What I like most about Malcolm Moyes’ writing is that he presents facts with meticulous attention to detail and without making outrageous assumptions, unlike some other writers and documentary producers. He does not begin with a presumption of innocence or guilt and then try to prove that he is right by ignoring accounts and documents which clash with his stance. Instead, he separates fact from fiction, using a wide range of contemporary evidence and newspaper reports which give widely differing pictures of events. For example, we learn from the descriptions of Eliza Joyce’s final moments as she proceeds to the scaffold that the “huge crowd fell silent” according to The Lincolnshire Chronicle, whereas the Stamford Mercury described the crowd as “profane”, “brutal” and taking “fiendish pleasure” in her execution. It is quite remarkable, given the nature of the crimes for which they were condemned to death, whether truly guilty or innocent, that the author skilfully elicits the reader’s sympathy for each of the three women in this study. There is a sensitivity running through the depictions of Eliza Joyce, Mary Ann Milner and Priscilla Biggadike and their lives, which invites the reader to consider the events which brought each one to her end in the light of modern understanding and attitudes around depression, mental health issues, poverty and hardship. “Attired in Deepest Mourning” is, above all, a comprehensive account of the tragic stories of three women, which is not only thought provoking but also heartwrenchng, without either claiming miscarriages of justice or affirming the guilty verdicts passed. As such, it is a valuable resource to anyone interested in the dark history of Lincoln Castle. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading the next book by Malcolm Moyes.

A must for any true crime reader. This second book by local Lincolnshire author provides a detailed analysis of three 19 century murder cases. Justice is swift, but the three lady murderers, all have a different journeys to their ultimate demise. Malcolm has pulled together material from the time and reports from Local and National press to give the reader an image of what happened. In the final case of the trilogy of murders, the question is posed whether this was Justice, or a miscarriage of justice. A highly recommend book.

In the provocative and slightly enigmatic Preface to his latest book, Malcolm Moyes puts his cards on the table: Attired in Deepest Mourning is no more and no less than a bringing back to life of three women who were sentenced to death in the nineteenth-century. At the very least, the author wants to give Eliza Joyce, Mary Ann Milner and Priscilla Biggadike ‘the decent burial which was denied them at the end of their short lives.' If the professed intention is to recreate flesh and blood human beings, who engage our sympathies without losing sight of the horror of their alleged crimes, the book succeeds. As with his previous book, By Force of Circumstances: the Lefley Case Reopened, the meticulous research and sharp analysis of previous accounts which previously defined the women engages the reader throughout. The book is captivating from the beginning with its time-line of events, and then only develops more fascination in the reader as the background is explored. Truly, when I read Attired in Deepest Mourning, I felt transported back in time by the descriptions of the historical characters, their situations, the proceedings through which they went and the reports of the events. The descriptions not only of the women themselves but of others involved, whether significant characters such as the judges or minor characters that come in and out of these life-stories, including examples of other judged persons, help to envisage and understand the people, the society and the ideas of justice of the time. It may be that this new book by Malcolm Moyes will stimulate further interest and research into the cases of Eliza Joyce, Mary Ann Milner and Priscilla Biggadike; but as with his book on Mary Lefley, it would take a very brave writer to attempt a more detailed and comprehensive study of small individuals caught up in an unforgiving judicial system.