I am currently working on a biography on Amelia Dyer. She was a baby farmer in the victorian times and it is estimated she killed over 400 babies in her time before she was hung at Newgate prison in 1896.
I have been researching her since her name came up in one of my Women Behaving Badly lectures about 2 weeks ago. As horrific her crime was, it strunk an interest, especially when i could only find one biography about her. As i need to do a biography (3000 words of one at least) for another module, i settled on her.
Over 2000 words of research and still more to find, it is only today on week 4 that it all began to feel a little too real.
I discovered that upon her final arrest for the discovery of the body of little Helena Fry aged just 15 months, a list of so far 10 children who at the time were in her care.
I already knew the names of not only Helena Fry, but also Harry Simmons and Doris Marmon. I also knew that when Helenas body was found, and the river Thames dregged for more. That more bodies including those two were also found.
I now know that out the 10 children in her care by March 1896, 4 of them survived, with 2 being rehomed and 2 being returned to their mothers.
For some reason now having full names of the children and ages, has made it feel even more real and upsetting and i found myself tearing up, imagining being the mother of one of those returned children, or even worse, one of those whos child was never returned.
I will post my extract on Amelia Dyer if you are interested (its over 1000 words so far and due in january for submission).
I cant help but wonder what happened to the children named who survived.
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