Love and Other Poisons
On sale
17th July 2025
Price: £20
‘A fascinating, forensic deep-dive’ DENISE MINA
‘Beautifully written, richly evoked and utterly gripping’ EVA DOLAN
‘A seductive tale of sex and death’ SARA SHERIDAN
***
1857, Glasgow.
A young socialite named Madeleine Smith stands accused of murdering her lover. Thousands wait outside the court to hear the result. The scandalous nature of the affair, detailed explicitly in letters published in newspapers across the world, has made her case a worldwide sensation. But when the jury find themselves unable to decide whether she is guilty, they render a verdict of ‘Not Proven’ – and Madeleine is freed.
1927, New York.
Harry Townsend, a handsome Hollywood film scout believes he has found the woman once known as Madeleine Smith. He wants to tell her story on film for the new ‘talkie’ generation. Since her trial she has lived under many names, as a glamourous society hostess in bohemian Bloomsbury to the likes of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, George Bernard Shaw and William Morris. Until suddenly, in 1890, when she disappeared off the face of the earth.
Could this quiet, secretive widow of an Irish labourer be the same Madeleine Smith who once stood trial for murder and escaped?
She has one last secret to reveal. Will Harry persuade her to tell it?
***
More praise for Lesley McDowell:
‘Riveting – a clever portrait of a fascinating, flawed heroine.’ THE TIMES
‘An intimate and enlightening tale of one of Romanticism’s forsaken muses.’ SUSAN STOKES-CHAPMAN
‘An absorbing, intoxicating page-turner about a woman who deserves to be remembered.’ JENNIFER SAINT
‘A must-read. McDowell brings to vivid, embodied life; a flirtatious, flawed woman fighting for her place in a man’s world.’ THE HERALD
‘Beautifully written, richly evoked and utterly gripping’ EVA DOLAN
‘A seductive tale of sex and death’ SARA SHERIDAN
***
1857, Glasgow.
A young socialite named Madeleine Smith stands accused of murdering her lover. Thousands wait outside the court to hear the result. The scandalous nature of the affair, detailed explicitly in letters published in newspapers across the world, has made her case a worldwide sensation. But when the jury find themselves unable to decide whether she is guilty, they render a verdict of ‘Not Proven’ – and Madeleine is freed.
1927, New York.
Harry Townsend, a handsome Hollywood film scout believes he has found the woman once known as Madeleine Smith. He wants to tell her story on film for the new ‘talkie’ generation. Since her trial she has lived under many names, as a glamourous society hostess in bohemian Bloomsbury to the likes of Dante Gabriel Rossetti, George Bernard Shaw and William Morris. Until suddenly, in 1890, when she disappeared off the face of the earth.
Could this quiet, secretive widow of an Irish labourer be the same Madeleine Smith who once stood trial for murder and escaped?
She has one last secret to reveal. Will Harry persuade her to tell it?
***
More praise for Lesley McDowell:
‘Riveting – a clever portrait of a fascinating, flawed heroine.’ THE TIMES
‘An intimate and enlightening tale of one of Romanticism’s forsaken muses.’ SUSAN STOKES-CHAPMAN
‘An absorbing, intoxicating page-turner about a woman who deserves to be remembered.’ JENNIFER SAINT
‘A must-read. McDowell brings to vivid, embodied life; a flirtatious, flawed woman fighting for her place in a man’s world.’ THE HERALD
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Reviews
Meticulously researched . . . gripping throughout
A fascinating, forensic deep-dive into the true crime case of Madeleine Smith. Mesmerising.
A feverish period thriller about the seduction of a young Scottish heiress. Beautifully written, richly evoked and utterly gripping. Based on a true story this one deserves to be huge!
A gorgeously written, seductive tale of sex and death, that delves into the darkness of Victorian women's hidden lives.
It's an enthralling novel, a beautifully organised tale in which McDowell shifts the perspective with great skill . . . thoroughly enjoyable - a remarkably intelligent and at times very moving fictionalisation of an extraordinary life.