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The most common murder victim in 19th century Australia was a baby, and the most common perpetrator was a woman. Annie Cossins pieces together the fascinating story of the most infamous legal trial in Australia to reveal an underworld of struggling mothers, unwanted babies, and a society that preferred to turn a blind eye.
List of contents
Author's note..Prologue..PART I: WHO WERE THE MAKINS?..1 The hanging..2 Sarah Makin: convict daughter..3 John Makin: son of the middle class with a past..4 The deadly secret in Sarah Makin's body..PART II: DIGGING UP THE BABY FARMERS' SECRETS..5 The baby trade..6 The Macdonaldtown discoveries..7 To catch a baby farmer..8 The first inquest: two babies called A and B..9 Constable James Joyce: Joycean fictions and the art of deceit..10 More digging and the strange behaviour of the Makins..11 The next five inquests: the Makins' lives stripped bare..12 The longest, saddest inquest: clothing and other complications..13 The mysterious Mr and Mrs Wilson give evidence..14 The obsessions of James Joyce: digging, redigging and more digging..15 Mothers, mothers everywhere: the George Street inquests begin..16 The day Miss Amber Murray visited the Makins..PART III: TRIALS, APPEALS AND VARIOUS PETITIONS..17 The trial of the century: a judge out of his depth..18 The first appeal: the Makins' struggle against the hand of fate..19 The law passes sentence..20 Last stop, London..21 Makin's last chance: an 'innocent' man under the thumb of a 'fiendish' woman..PART IV: SARAH MAKIN, REFORMED WOMAN..22 From convict daughter to convict..23 Was Sarah Makin really an evil, deadly woman?..24 The lives that were left..Notes..Acknowledgements..Index
About the author
Annie Cossins is an author, actor and criminologist.
Summary
'The book's power stems from its devastating details; Cossins establishes a tone so vivid it's reminiscent of Dickens.' Publishers Weekly starred review
In October 1892, a one-month-old baby boy was found buried in the backyard of Sarah and John Makin, two wretchedly poor baby farmers in inner Sydney. In the weeks that followed, 12 more babies were found buried in the backyards of other houses in which the Makins had lived. This resulted in the most infamous trial in Australian legal history, and exposed a shocking underworld of desperate mothers, drugged and starving babies, and a black market in the sale and murder of children.
Annie Cossins pieces together a dramatic and tragic tale with larger than life characters: theatrical Sarah Makin; her smooth-talking husband, John; her disloyal daughter, Clarice; diligent Constable James Joyce, with curious domestic arrangements of his own; and a network of baby farmers stretching across the city. It's a glimpse into a society that preferred to turn a blind eye to the fate of its most vulnerable members, only a century ago.
Foreword
The most common murder victim in 19th century Australia was a baby, and the most common perpetrator was a woman. Annie Cossins pieces together the fascinating story of the most infamous legal trial in Australia to reveal an underworld of struggling mothers, unwanted babies, and a society that preferred to turn a blind eye.
