A ten-part series examining the hidden and darker aspects of Victorian life. 10:The Menialsby JEAN MCCONNELL
(based on her account of the case of Janey Popejoy in the book Blood on my Mind)
On Christmas Eve 1897 young Janey Popejoy 's mistress sent her back to her home in Bag-shot, Surrey, after a year's service. Janey was covered in bruises with a black eye. a broken nose, a burn on her finger and a septic foot. She had bronchial pneumonia and she weighed only 65 lbs. Four days later she was dead.
There followed a notorious criminal trial which was to prove a strong indictment of the pressures and attitudes - particularly to servants - of the late Victorian era.
Narrated by STEPHEN THORNE with the voices of SHEILA ALLEN , KATE BINCHY
ELIZABETH PROUD, SHEILA GRANT JOHN RYE, WILLIAM EEDLE
GEOFFREY BEEVERS , BETTY BASKCOMB WILLIAM FOX , LEWIS STRINGER Producer MAURICE LEITCH