Laura Thompson’s book Rex v Edith Thompson is the story of a murder and how it was perceived at the time. The killing took place in 1922 when Edith’s husband was attacked by Frederick Bywaters when walking home from a night out. Frederick was definitely guilty of the crime but he had been having an affair with Edith and letters from her to him seemed to hint at a more complex situation.
You know from the beginning of this story that Edith was also hanged for her husband’s murder although she didn’t actually take part in the deed. The letters that she wrote seemed to imply to the readers at the time that she was totally in control of Frederick and had instructed him to carry out the killing. A number of things factored into this impression. Edith was older than Frederick and she was a reasonably independent woman who earned well. She had had more than one affair, her marriage was in tatters, she was childless and she enjoyed a night out. Her letters were recovered but she had destroyed all of Frederick’s so there was a one sided view of their communication before the murder. Edith was an uninhibited and articulate writer who indulged her imagination including thinking about what could happen to her husband to free her from the marriage and there appeared to be no investigation as to whether things she wrote about were real or not.
The author is clear that Edith’s conviction was as a result of misogyny. The case against her was based on assumptions and inferences mainly drawn from the letters. The attitude of the court and the jury echoed the newspapers and public opinion. As the author picks apart the decision and the reasons why it went against her she clearly shows how the evidence does not back up the assumptions made.
I found this book hard to get into because the author started near the end of the story and I felt that I needed to know more facts at this point. Eventually the narrative settled down into a more chronological pattern and I was drawn into the story and the author’s arguments. If you do start this book I recommend that you stick with it because it becomes a very interesting examination of sexual and class inequality. I also recommend A Different Class of Murder by the same author (see review here) which examined the Lord Lucan affair from the point of view of class.
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