Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Preview
  • Mary Ann Cotton - Dark Angel

  • Britain's First Female Serial Killer
  • By: Martin Connolly
  • Narrated by: Rosie Akerman
  • Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (13 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Mary Ann Cotton - Dark Angel

By: Martin Connolly
Narrated by: Rosie Akerman
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Summary

A female thief, with four husbands, a lover, and, reportedly, over 12 children, is arrested and tried for the murder of her stepson in 1872, turning the small village of West Auckland in County Durham upside down. Other bodies are exhumed, and when they are found to contain arsenic, she is suspected of their murder as well. The perpetrator, Mary Ann Cotton, was tried and found guilty and later hanged on 24 March 1873 in Durham Gaol. It is claimed she murdered over 20 people and was the first female serial killer in England.

With a blow by blow account of the trial, this book challenges the claim that Mary Ann Cotton was the "The West Auckland Borgia", a title given to her at the time. It sets out her life, trial, death, and the aftermath, and also questions the legal system used to convict her by looking at contemporary evidence from the time and offering another explanation for the deaths. The book also covers the lives of those left behind, including the daughter born to Mary Ann Cotton in Durham Gaol.

©2016 Martin Connolly (P)2020 Pen and Sword History
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

Murderesses in Victorian Britain cover art
Great and Horrible News cover art
The Murderous Children of 19th Century Britain cover art
The Battered Body Beneath the Flagstones & Other Victorian Scandals cover art
Supper with the Crippens cover art
Murder Most Foul: The Complete Series 1-4 cover art
Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror cover art
The Disappearance of Lydia Harvey cover art
The Poisonous Solicitor cover art
One August Morning: The True Story of Lizzie Borden cover art
Great British Trials Box Set cover art
A Gallery of Poisoners cover art
Court Number One cover art
Self Portrait of a Serial Killer cover art
Mortal Monarchs cover art
Butcher's Work cover art

What listeners say about Mary Ann Cotton - Dark Angel

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    8
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    6
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

it's not bad

more factual then story. i overall liked it . very interesting i raccomend it if you like murder solving.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Narration let's this down

The content is solid but unfortunately the narrator doesn't work. Her voice (through no fault of her own) is pitchy and inconsistent and sadly that distracts from the book itself

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

absolutely fascinating book

Having watched TV adaptation Dark Angel.
Was intreagd by the audio book.
Was totally engrossing and gave me a totally different insight to the TV series .
Did she do it was it by accident or a miss carriage of justice.
I'm not able to make my mind up

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not for me

The narrator has a sweet voice but fluctuates so much in pitch that I can't relax into the book, which is obviously very thoroughly researched. I usually like this type of book but will shelve this.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Poorly written

Story was completely all over the place. Jumped back and forth and had no rhythm at all. This was interesting content but deserved better writing. Performance is fine.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!