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

"An evocative and gripping account of a mid-Victorian case of child murder in the bustling, genteel sea-side town of Torquay, in Devon. Not only does Professor Jackson provide a forensic account of the arrest, trials and lives of two women - an unmarried mother and a childminder - accused of killing a four-month-old baby boy, but he uses this case to explore the complex and contradictory society that often placed women in impossible situations and failed to deal adequately with the fall out. Essential reading for anyone with an interest in the history of child protection, criminal justice, and nineteenth-century society."

Rosalind Crone, The Open University, UK