Book Review - Foul Deeds & Suspicious Deaths in the Isle of Wight by M J Trow
Gerard McGrath is suitably impressed by a book that dispels any misconceptions previously held about the tranquility of the Isle of Wight.
It evidences the facets of the prurient and morbid, which are integral and inherent to greater or lesser degrees in the psyche of all of us, that books such as this one have the power to grip and enthrall.
Renowned author, teacher and historian Merion James Trow has penned an informative and commendable read of its genre. I have no reservations at all in recommending it not only to those who are drawn to the genre in search of a vicarious thrill or two, but to any reader who, like me, has an interest in history. Mr Trow is my kind of historian; he is an empiricist who has been diligent and assiduous in his research; one who does not gild the lily or embellish the historical facts; one who is measured and equitable with his comments and observations; a compelling story-teller, a consummate wordsmith.
In something of a peripatetic style in eighteen succinct, interesting, often fascinating chapters, Mr Trow takes his reader on a journey through a previously neglected facet of the history of the Isle of Wight. In the course of the sojourn the author examines cold cases of murder, the esoteric world of the smuggler, the escapades of rapacious pirates and robbers who are part of the darker side of the island's history.
Readers are introduced to diverse infamous, notorious characters whose crimes were motivated to greater or lesser degree by avarice, passion, insanity and callous, ruthless premeditation.
The stand-alone chapters encompass twenty varied tales which include murders committed in the recent past.
Chronologically, Mr Trow offers snippets which as aforementioned will appeal to those who have an interest in history. He makes mention of the invasion of the island in ancient times by the Emperor Vespasian and his rapine Roman legions. They fought and defeated the indigenous Durotriges and Dobunni tribes. In chapter two, which focuses upon medieval times, mention is made of Isabella de Fortibus who died in 1293.
Widowed at twenty-three the murder of her brother saw her propelled into the male dominated arena of political power where amongst her roles she acted as the coroner. Mr Trow cites cases from just prior to the reign of Isabella which evidence the extraordinary high rate of murder in the era. Chapter four is devoted to the sinking in 1545 of the Mary Rose, flagship of Henry VIII.
In chapter ten he engenders a sense of deja vu in recounting the sinking in 1782 of the Royal George. In their respective era these events were as monumental as the sinking of the Titantic in the twentieth century.
In chapter twelve one reads the compelling rags-to-riches tale of Sophie Dawes. Born around 1792, one of ten children together with her nine siblings and their mother she was compelled to enter the workhouse upon the death of her smuggler father. Sophie was not yet eleven years old. The workhouse had not yet acquired the sinister reputation it would subsequent to Jeremy Bentham's New Poor Law Act of 1834 but it was by no means an easy option.
The redoubtable Sophie gained a basic education in the workhouse. The chapter traces the inexorable rise up the social ladder of Sophie to become the toast of the French court! It would spoil the enjoyment of this chapter for potential readers were I to regale you with her myriad colourful exploits. Suffice it that I am at a loss to understand why her story has not as yet been committed to celluloid.
Sophie's story makes Moll Flanders look like a candidate for canonization by comparison! No sort of historical text about the Isle of Wight would be complete if it failed to make mention of the island's three prisons: Parkhurst, Albany and Camp Hill. Mr Trow does not neglect the history of the island's prison complex as chapter
fourteen evidences.
For those of us who are not familiar with the history of the island, Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in the Isle of Wight effectively dispels any misconceptions we might have had that nothing worthy of note has ever happened there. I commend Mr Trow and conclude in repeating my recommendation of his book.
Foul Deeds and Suspicious Deaths in the Isle of Wight by M J Trow is published by Wharncliffe Books price £12-99p ISBN -1-845630-88-2
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