The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy (68 page)

The character of Peter O'Grady is based on Thomas Howell, and, yes, I did use dramatic license in the dates for the prototypes of Mr. Howell's efforts.

Lewis Tregonwell

A captain in the Dorset Rangers, Lewis Tregonwell is known as the founder of Bournemouth. Tregonwell and his wife Henrietta (Portman) came to Mudeford so that Henrietta might recover from the loss of their second child. While in the area, they visited Bourne Heath and fell in love with the area. In 1810, Tregonwell bought 8.5 acres for £179 11s from Sir George Ivison Tapps, the Lord of the Manor of Christchurch. It was to be the Tregonwells' summer home. They slept in the house for the first time on April 24, 1812. The house survives today as a wing of the Royal Exeter Hotel.

The Monoliths in Dorset

Some 30 meters south of the River Stour in Bear Mead and two kilometers west of Wimborne in Dorset, a monolithic stone can be seen. Located at SY 986–993, the stone, of fine limestone, has a density of 2,650 kilograms per cubic meter, suggesting an approximate weight for the monolith of 1,076 kilograms. The stone is affectionately called the “Bearstone.” A similar toppled monolith can be found some 600 meters to the NNE, on the other side of the River Stour in Cowgrove. Of similar quality to Bearstone, “Moonstone” is approximately 1.2 meters high x .75 meters wide x 0.2 meters wide, with a weight of 477 kilograms.

The source for both stones appears to be Purbeck, which is twenty-three kilometers south on Dorset's Jurassic coast. Likely, the stones were transported into Christchurch Harbour and up the Stour to their present positions. An Ordnance Survey map dated 1902 shows five stones in a circle, centered on SY 992–996. The Bearstone is situated 570 meters to the SW of the circle and is likely a “heel” stone for the formation. Most professionals believe that Bearstone and Moonstone were boundary stones used before the Inclosure Act of 1805 to mark the meeting points of unfenced fields. One can find wonderfully detailed pictures of the area and the stones at “Monolith at Bear Mead” (
http://www.eyemead.com/MONOLITH.htm
).

The Lesser Key of Solomon or Lemegeton

The Lesser Key of Solomon is an anonymous seventeenth century grimoire. It is also widely known as the
Lemegeton
. It is an extremely popular book of demonology. Although the book appeared in the seventeenth century, much of the text comes from the sixteenth century, including Johann Weyer's
Pseudomonarchia Daemonum.
King Solomon is supposedly the author of the text; however, the titles of nobility used within the text were not in use during Solomon's reign. Nor were the prayers to Jesus and the Christian Trinity part of King Solomon's time.

The Circumstance and Manner of Death:
Drowning Victims

According to a document issued by the Department of Forensic Medicine at the University of Dundee, “The world incidence of death by drowning is estimated at about 5.6 per 100,000 of population. Approximately 1,500 deaths from drowning occur in the UK each year; 25% occur in the sea and the rest in inland waters; the majority of victims are young adults and children; two-third are accidental and one-third are suicidal; homicide by drowning is rare.”

Disposal of a body in water is sometimes attempted in the case of a homicide. In such incidents, an autopsy is directed toward establishing injuries inconsistent with an accident. To discover an excellent source on all things related to drowning victims, I would suggest
www.dundee.ac.uk/forensicmedicine/notes/water.pdf
.

Arsenic Poisoning

Arsenic was once considered to be the perfect poison. It lacks color, odor, and taste. The symptoms include stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea. The perpetrator may give small doses of the poison over a period of time, which makes it more difficult to detect. According to most sources, the Borgia family was renowned for its use of arsenic, although some newer articles suggest that this assumption may be incorrect. One of America's founding fathers, George Wythe, was killed by his grandnephew with a dose of arsenic. In
The Phantom of Pemberley
, I incorporated the idea of women adding arsenic to their makeup as face whitener.

A famous arsenic murderer during the Victorian era was a woman called Mary Ann Cotton (1832–1873). Reportedly, she killed twenty people over a twenty-year period, including her husbands and children. She was known to serve many of her victims an arsenic-laced tea. A postmortem examination of one of her victims sent Cotton to the gallows.

Sheela na gig

Sheela na gigs are figurative carvings of naked women which display exaggerated vulvas. They are easily found throughout Britain and Ireland on churches, castles, and other important buildings. One of the most well-known examples of Sheela na gigs can be found in the Round Tower at Rattoo, in County Kerry, Ireland. Another excellent example is located at Kilpeck in Herefordshire, England.

Resurrectionists (or Body Snatching)

The secret disinterment of corpses from graveyards was a common activity in the nineteenth century. Bodies were sold to medical schools for the purpose of dissection or anatomy lectures. Those who practiced body snatching were often called
resurrectionists
or
resurrection-men
.

Before the Anatomy Act of 1832, the only legal supply of corpses for anatomical purposes in the UK were those condemned to death and dissection by the courts. The court system would condemn those of more violent crime to dissection. However, the courts did not supply enough corpses for research purposes. It is estimated only an average of fifty people were condemned for such purposes each year, while the medical schools required five hundred cadavers annually. Therefore, a business in body snatching evolved.

The Minster

In the novel, I have taken the liberty to create a small church serving the Wimborne community. In reality, Wimborne Minster, known locally as the Minster, is the parish church of Wimborne, England. The Minster has existed for over thirteen hundred years and is recognized for its unusual chained library, one of only four surviving chained libraries in the world. The Minster is a former monastery and Benedictine nunnery, which houses the resting place of King Ethelred of Wessex.

Roman Roads

The earliest roads built during the Roman occupation of England connected London with ports used in the invasion (Chichester and Richborough) and the earliest legionary bases at Colchester, Lincoln, Wroxeter, Gloucester, and Exeter. In the eighteenth century, Roman roads were built over to create the turnpike system. When roads on their land had not been built over, farmers ploughed under many sections, and the original roads were stripped of their stone to use on turnpike roads. However, there were numerous tracts of Roman road which survived in the form of footpaths through woodland or common land.

Jack Ketch

Jack Ketch was an infamous English executioner employed by King Charles II. He became famous because of his enthusiasm for performing his duties. Ketch was often mentioned in broadsheet accounts circulated throughout England. He executed the death sentences of William Russell and of James Scott, the first Duke of Monmouth. Ketch's notoriety rose because of his barbarous ways and his sometimes-botched executions. The name “Jack Ketch” became a term for those who performed the duties of a hangman at Newgate and other prisons.

REGINA JEFFERS, an English teacher for thirty-nine years, considers herself a Jane Austen enthusiast. She is the author of several novels, including
The Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy
,
Christmas at Pemberley
,
The Phantom of Pemberley
,
Darcy's Passions
,
Darcy's Temptation
, and
Captain Wentworth's Persuasion
. A Time Warner Star Teacher and Martha Holden Jennings Scholar, Jeffers often serves as a consultant in language arts and media literacy. Currently living outside Charlotte, North Carolina, she spends her time with her writing.