August 7, 1889. In Liverpool's St. George's Hall, an American woman named Florence Maybrick stands behind iron bars, dressed in mourning black… for the husband she's accused of murdering. The evidence against her is thin: James Maybrick was a longtime arsenic addict who bought the poison daily, and none was found in his stomach when he died. But Florence had committed another kind of crime in the eyes of Victorian society. She'd had an affair. And to many, that moral transgression was proof enough of murder.

How did a 17-year-old American socialite end up married to a secret addict, and then put on trial for her life? How did her case ignite protests, half a million petition signatures, and the fury of Queen Victoria herself? And how did one wronged woman help change England's system of justice forever?

Special thanks to our guest, Rick Hutto, attorney and author of A Poisoned Life: Florence Chandler Maybrick, the First American Woman Sentenced to Death in England; and to Andrea Hastings-Arroyo, graduate student and library specialist at the University of Wyoming, who helped with our research.

You can find all the books we’ve used to make recent HISTORY This Week episodes at historythisweekpodcast.com.

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Listen to all 20 episodes of World War II with Tom Hanks wherever you get your podcasts!

The war is over, and the Allies are triumphant. The United States and the Soviet Union initially work together to establish a new world order, but over the course of the next four years these two nations will go from Allies of convenience to ideological adversaries, launching the next phase of global conflict under the shadow of nuclear war.

This episode features interviews with (in order of appearance):

• Michel Paradis, professor, Columbia University
• Jon Meacham, presidential historian
• Simon Sebag Montefiore, historian and author
• Timothy Naftali, senior research scholar, Columbia University
• Sarada Peri, presidential speechwriter and political analyst
• Phillips O’Brien, professor, University of St. Andrews
• Alexandra Richie, professor, Collegium Civitas
• Dan Carlin, podcaster, Hardcore History
• Michael Kimmage, professor, Catholic University of America
• Michael Neiberg, professor, US Army War College
• Dan Snow, historian and broadcaster
• A.J. Baime, journalist and author
• Robert Citino, senior historian, National WWII Museum

Sharing an episode of a show we really love, called The Rest is History. Hosted by historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, the show brings the past to life through gripping storytelling, sharp analysis and a huge sense of drama. From the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, the French Revolution and the Norman Conquest of 1066, to the sinking of the Titanic, the Second World War and the lives of history’s most powerful rulers, Tom and Dominic unpack the people, battles and world-changing events that shaped the modern world. Their latest series explores the Founding Fathers of the United States - the ideas, rivalries and revolutions behind the birth of America.

In this episode, Dominic and Tom launch into the extraordinary life and origins of George Washington. Where did George Washington come from, and what was he like? How did he come to take on such a pivotal role in the American Revolution? And, was he really central to America’s triumphant struggle for independence?

You can find more episodes of The Rest Is History at https://linktr.ee/RestIshistory.