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Infanticide and Baby-Farming in Victorian England: The Torquay Murder of 1865
This open access book explores the tragic case of the Torquay Murder of 1865, when the body of a young boy was discovered abandoned on the outskirts of Torquay in Devon, England. Having identified the child as three-month-old Thomas Harris, local police arrested the child's mother, Mary Jane Harris, and his nurse, Charlotte Winsor, and charged them both with murder.
Drawing on a range of original sources including police and inquest reports, court and prison records, witness depositions, newspaper accounts, census records, medical texts, Home Office documents and letters, Mark Jackson carefully reconstructs the complex story of this murder and explores the personal and political consequences of Britain's first baby-farming scandal. Situating the case within the national infanticide crisis it coincided with, and exploring the debates it provoked around illegitimacy laws, abolishing capital punishment and regulating the practice of adoption, this book examines the impact this landmark trial had on British law and society. The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by University of Exeter, UK.Book Details
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
- Publish Date: Nov 13rd, 2025
- Pages: 256
- Language: English
- Edition: undefined - undefined
- Dimensions: 9.21in - 6.14in - 1.00in - 1.00lb
- EAN: 9781350532021
- Categories: • Europe - Great Britain - Victorian Era (1837-1901)• Social History• Women
About the Author
Born and reared in Ohio, Mark Jackson attended Ohio University on a 4-year Army ROTC scholarship. Jackson served with the 2nd ACR in Germany and the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, NC.
After the military, Jackson served in several professional positions with public sector corporations. Additionally, he is a leadership trainer and consultant primarily for the U.S. Government and Department of Defense. Jackson's 100+ training seminars unite historical case studies with textbook leadership methods and strategies.
In 2009, Jackson returned to the U.S. Army and served a tour of duty as a Combat Advisor Team Chief in Afghanistan. He earned the Bronze Star and the Combat Action Badge.
Jackson holds a Master's Degree of Arts in Leadership Development from Gonzaga University and is a member of Mensa. He had articles printed in The Washington Post, Reader's Digest and numerous other media outlets, as well as being featured on ABC and Fox News. He is the author of one book, Touched by Fire.
Praise for this book
"Jackson turns his historical eye onto the intriguing case of the 'Torquay murder', providing new insights into nineteenth century anxieties about illegitimacy, baby-farming, gender, and crime. He is a masterful storyteller." --Joanna Bourke, Professor Emerita at Birkbeck, University of London, UK
"By focussing on the two trials resulting from the death of a single infant, Mark Jackson combines a gripping narrative with a wealth of detail about the legal and medical professions, the development of criminal procedure and evidence, and the practice of 'baby farming'. Infanticide and baby-farming are key issues in understanding the historical interplay of gender, crime and justice, and this book will be essential reading for anyone interested in these aspects of Victorian society." --Tony Ward, Professor of Law, Northumbria University, UK