Littlehampton Poison Pen Letter Scandal
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- Littlehampton Poison Pen Letter Scandal
Chronicle of the Times Episode 70 | 1920
We are in Littlehampton in 1920 and the whole of the village is being bombarded with an array of obscene accusatory poison pen letters with exceptionally vile language. Although many in the village are being hit with the letters, the majority seem to be directed towards saintly Miss Swann and members of her family.
The immediate suspect is her neighbour, the considerably less saintly Rose Gooding. The less fortunate Miss Gooding is promptly found guilty and committed to prison for some months. Upon her release, the letters return and if anything, the volume seems to increase.
Scotland Yard are called in!
What unfolds is a trap to capture the real poison pen author in a manner worthy of an old James Bond film. The culprit is a surprise to everyone.
A favourite story of ours with a whole village under attack in 1920. The Littlehampton Poison Pen Mystery Scandal is today’s episode of scandals of the past.
Hosted by Robin Coles.
#ChronicleofTheTimes #britishhistory #documentary #Victorianage #literature #bedtimestories #scandal #littlehampton
RUclips: / @newsofthetimes
Email: newsofthetimespodcast@gmail.com
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Damm Edith!.. Just so crazy. Great job Robin and team.
Yes, nutter, right? The letters were supposed ot have been really really vile stuff! And Scotland yard were apparently well pleased with having cracked the case which had been going on for years😁
Miss Swan reminds me of Christiana Edmunds. Whether wielding a poison pen or poisoned chocolate creams, both had ample time and multiple opportunities to avoid arrest and prosecution - but they just couldn't stop themselves. And both ended up institutionalized in the same sad way.
I'm really looking forward to seeing Wicked Little Letters, the film based on this case. Olivia Colman as Miss Swan, Timothy Spall and Gemma Jones as her parents, and Jessie Buckley as Rose. I can hardly wait until it's available in the US.
Great point re edmunds and swann! 👍We have seen wicked little letters and were disappointed - probably because we know the case well. Brilliant acting - as expected. It is the script! They changed the story - and there is no Scotland yard. We never understand why stories are changed when the original story was so good to begin with.🤔
@@ChronicleofTheTimes2024 Needless to say, I'm disappointed to hear that they changed the story. The same thing happened with the Karen Pirie miniseries. The reviews were great. Then I saw it and thought "but Val McDermid's story was so much better."
@@bethanyherrera4787 Hate when they change the story.😥
I just had to make another comment. This lady was....how do you say politely....nuts! Wow! What a story! Unbelievable!! But the famous Scotland yard was on the game and outsmarted the lady!!!
If I'm not mistaken there was a similar case like this here in America. Someone was writing poison pen letters to a whole lot of people in this small town. Maybe you could find out and do an episode about it. It was very strange and I don't remember exactly how it turned out. Anyway thank you all for your excellent work.
oooooh - we did not know about a similar case in the states! There was another case like this in the UK ma few years later. Hmmmm. Yes, she was a nutter! We think she was into this because she could then curse her parents (who got A LOT of the letters) without their knowing. Scotland Yard were mega proud of their super spy invisible ink trap😉
@@ChronicleofTheTimes2024 I believe it was on unsolved mysteries, the circleville letter mystery from the 1980s. Involves booby traps, affairs, a mysterious death, and a wrongful conviction!
Edith Swan was one vindictive individual!! She sure had it in for poor Rose!! What a nasty piece of work!!
I think Edith enjoyed the sympathy and attention from everyone around her for being the "victim" of the poison pen letters!! She must've enjoyed playing on the emotions of those around her!!
Hurrah for Scotland Yard, who saved the day!!
GREAT storytelling, as usual, Robin!! ❤👏💕👍💞
Thank you - really glad you lked it - this one is a favourite of ours!😉
@@ChronicleofTheTimes2024 I do feel sorry for Edith's elderly father, though!! He must have had quite the shock when it all came to light!! Also, he and the rest of their family were probably stigmatised because of Edith's wrongdoings!!
@@nadiabrook7871 We are sure you are right and they were terribly stigmaitised within the community - especially as she had had the reputation of a touch of saintliness. The father was, by all accounts, something of a blustery old disciplinarian with his feet firmly in the past. Edith had very little freedom. We think her nasty poison pen letter writing was probably one way to release the tension. 🤔
@@ChronicleofTheTimes2024 Probably so!! The fact that her father dictated the letter to her married sister while Edith wrote it, speaks volumes, I reckon!! Why couldn't HE have written his own letters?!🤔🤔
That was a good one !!!!
Really glad you liked it!! It is one of our faves!😉
I just watched Wicked Little Letters and needed to see photos of these women. Your video of this story was much enjoyed. One point I kept waiting to hear asked but it never came up is why did no one think to tally up the frivolous cost of all postage, much less the writing supplies! And hearing your more factual telling of this story, I again have to wonder why no one asked how Ms. Gooding had the time and money to carry off her crime? All those kids under foot had to have taken up any privacy and time needed to write the letters and have time to secretly post them.
Excellent points! 👍Your Sherlock is showing! 🔎The class system was alive and well at the time - Miss Swan was from good family, and Rose was not. Sad. Rose was completely run over - it made no sense at all that she would do it. We liked the real story more than the dramatised version - all the acting was brilliant, but why get rid of the Scotland yard angle? Invisible ink was super spy stuff at the time! Thank you for your kind comment and support! Very much appreciated.🙏
Oh my goodness! Lucky for Rose the notebook was found! Edith must've had some strange form of Tourette's....sudden, uncontrollable impulses to write obscenities'!
Complete nutter! We think the scotland yard invisible ink trap was just brilliant! She was also completely surprised when she was caught that no one would stand up for her. We admit to this being a favourite story of ours.😁
Homegirl had issues glad she got caught.
So are we!! Issues is an understatement! She had a saintly rep - that vanished!😉
It's the Yank! Oh my goodness, this one looks to be a really good story! You know when the world famous Scotland yard get involved, the criminals are running like rats! I have already given a thumbs up! Tallyhoooo!
This one is a favourite of ours! Hard to imagine having a whole village being triolled, in the nastiest way, for years and then finally being caught by Scotland yard in a james bond invisible ink kind of way! 😉
Wow! What a ripping yarn. Thank you
😁So very glad you liked it! 🙏 It could transfer over to present day without too many adjustments....🤔
Swan definitely belonged in an institution. She was bonkers.😮 Oh well, she was caught and dealt with anyway. Thank you for sharing.
Glad you liked! It is hard to imagne now - but it was like having a 1920's version of a town troll. We imagine it was really upsetting. She had issues for sure....🤔
Good story. Thanks for sharing this
thank you! We really liked this story - one of those "stranger than fiction" or "you couldn't make it up"😉
This is my first time watching something from this channel.
30 seconds in, I subscribed!
Looking forward to going through all the other videos!!
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I used to have my childhood holidays here😂
Really! We think it has probably changed a lot now. Had you heard of this story?🤔
@@ChronicleofTheTimes2024 had not heard of this! . Been away from uk for 40 years! So its all changed:)
@@crystalclear6864 We think it has probably all changed - as have most places😉
There's a new movie about this case. It's called "Wicked Little Letters". I didn't realize it was based on a true story. Another great history lesson!
The adaptation for the screen isn’t in our opinion as good as the real story
Glad you enjoyed it 🤔
@@ChronicleofTheTimes2024 It never is, whether it's fiction or non-fiction. Which is why I can't watch the Outlander series. Poor Miss Swan, I can just imagine the things in her life that caused her to have these outburst in letter form.
@@jbos5107 We think she must have been very Restricted in her life with her domineering father and the letters were a type of twisted relief. We perhaps have more sympathy with Rose and the threat of losing custody. 🤔
There WAS a Christy novel like this!
That's what we thought! Where is Miss Marple???😉
I get the impression these two ladies did not part on good terms as they did in the movie.
😁W are huge fans of the actors in the film, but why why why must they change an already good story? Befuddling. 🤔
£15k is not enough. good lord, that poor woman.
No - Rose really suffered and could have lost care of her child. Talk about vendetta!🤔
@@ChronicleofTheTimes2024 And her reputation as well. Edith really should’ve just stuck to vinegar valentines cards. Treacherous woman. There was a case a few years ago in the US where something similar happened and it led to murder. Cari Farver was the victim’s name.
@@reggznbakey Interesting! We have another case here in the UK as well - a few years after Swann. But that is for another day...😉
I just recently watched the movie based on this story, Wicked Little Letters, and am shocked it is so close to the real-life story. Olivia Coleman did a great job portraying Ms.Swan, given what we know…the woman must’ve had some serious mental issues.
yes, we watched it too!! You are right Olivia did a great job - as did all the cast! We were disappointed that the Scotland yard angle was changed somewhat - oh well. 🙄