An Alternative History for Mary

The Hartlepool History Group tell a very different story about Mary based on historical documents such as court transcripts at www.maryanncotton.co.uk

With no genuine physical evidence or witness statement, she was convicted on circumstantial evidence alone. Presumed guilty by the public, with her character destroyed in a pre-trial media frenzy. The full potential of the accusations made against her represented the of pinnacle of pre-existing Victorian fears  regarding poisoning for profit. At her trial the fact that the accused was a woman went against her due to Victorian values regarding who or what women were or should be.
Badly represented in court by her defense, and hammered by the big-wig London prosecutor, regardless of guilt she didn't stand a chance.

Mary Ann Cotton Documentary - Treatment

The only Known photo of Mary c.1873

 'Arsenic in Old Lace'

In 1873 Mary Ann Cotton was tried, convicted and executed for the murder of 3 of her 4 husbands. She was also suspected of killing up to 21 other people, mainly family members by Arsenic poisoning. Her motivation provided by the prosecution at her trial was primarily financial gain, by collecting their death insurance. She is notable in historical text as Britain’s first documented female serial killer.

The documentary will try to breakdown the media myth surrounding Mary and compare it to documented facts that the Hartlepool Historians group present on their web page maryanncotton.co.uk. They suggest that she was the victim of a contemporary media witch hunt and convicted on circumstantial evidence alone (reading the website does leave you thinking that she was an innocent and the victim of a gross miscarriage of justice). This information is compounded by and will be presented within a backdrop of Victorian Britain draped in a veil of poison, due to the (frankly unbelievable and) unregulated use of Arsenic based products in the home.
The documentary will remain open minded to arguments for and against Marys guilt, leaving the audience ultimately to judge for themselves in conclusion.

Primarily conceived for web distribution the infomercial will be no longer than 23 ½ mins (Channel 4 standard half hour evening slot) should the opportunity for it to be broadcast become available.

The documentary shall include two reconstructions showing key moments from Marys trial and her execution. The second reconstruction scene will be used as a vehicle to personalise Mary to the audience and try to strip away the monster of legend. This hopefully will give Mary a fairer chance of judgement by the audience at the documentaries conclusion. These will be shot on 16mm motion film and are estimated to be 3mins each, they shall be interspersed throughout the documentary to create a visual distinction from the investigative and analytical aspects of the documentary which is to be captured on digital media

The aim of the project is to produce a mini documentary 'infomercial' to raise public awareness to this alternative history and generate interest in the production of an hour long version for broadcast.

Currently there is a lot of media interest in Mary Ann Cotton due to the ITV Drama ‘Dark Angel’ starring Joanne Froggatt as Mary. The production portrays the popular historical rendition of events.

I think my unknown family connection to Mary puts me in the right position to give a fair account of the known events with reasonable speculation. I would like to use this in the final production by confirming my family connection as a conclusion to the end and include a personal journey aspect into the piece.