Mrs. Maybrick

The startling true story of a beautiful American socialite wrongly sentenced to death in Victorian Liverpool for the murder of her husband, Jack The Ripper. FLORENCE CHANDLER meets and marries a dashing older man, Liverpool cotton merchant James Maybrick in 1881. After a short time the marriage turns sour and Florence seeks solace in the arms of a lover, ALFRED BRIERLEY, whilst James turns to alcohol, prostitutes and poisonous drugs. James discovers Florence's affair and, filled with a jealous, impotent rage, decides to alleviate his pain by wreaking revenge on the poor unfortunates of Whitechapel, London. James's brother, the famous composer MICHAEL MAYBRICK, fears that James's murderous activities will ruin his own comfortable life so he hatches a plan to murder his brother and blame the sister-in-law he detests for the crime. The Whitechapel murders suddenly stop, the gentle Liverpool cotton merchant James Maybrick is mourned by friends and family and his wife awaits the gallows for a crime she did not commit. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ FLORENCE ELIZABETH CHANDLER MAYBRICK was born in Mobile, Alabama around 1862. After a series of adventures with her bombastic, Yankee mother, she finds herself on board a steamship bound for England. She is nineteen when she meets and falls in love with JAMES MAYBRICK. Their courtship during the voyage is passionate and shocking to the other passengers. When their marriage turns sour, Florence throws herself into the arms of another man, ALFRED BRIERLEY. Their lack of discretion alerts her jealous husband, James, to the affair and it becomes the subject of vicious gossip among the servants in the Maybrick household. James, humiliated in his own house, regularly disappears on business trips to London, which provides Florence with the opportunity to meet Alfred and stir-up even more trouble for herself. When James falls desperately ill, Florence discovers the shocking truth of who her husband really is, but Florence's brother-in-law, MICHEAL MAYBRICK, has such control over events that Florence is powerless and completely isolated. James is slowly poisoned to death by a mysterious medicine of Michael’s contrivance and the finger of blame points inexorably towards Florence. On trial for her life, Florence desperately attempts to tell her side of the story – but without the shocking details of James’s monstrous activities because she fears for the lives of her children – now under the guardianship of Michael. Everyone expects Florence to be found not guilty but, due to a mad judge, a flawed defence and the machinations of Michael, Florence is found guilty of the willful murder of her husband. With only days to go until her execution by hanging, Florence’s growing number of supporters on both sides of the Atlantic devote all their energy to petitioning the only person in the world who can save her – QUEEN VICTORIA. Four days before she is due to hang, Florence is informed that the death sentence has been commuted to life imprisonment. Florence must start a sentence which will last fifteen years – for a crime she didn’t commit. All Florence ever wanted was to be loved. She must come to terms with her husband's violent behaviour and protect her two young children. She thinks she can trust Alfred, but he's a coward who tries to run away. She also thinks she can trust Michael, but she falls into his trap and he uses everything he knows about her to destroy her. In the end, Florence's battle becomes one of pure survival. She just wants to stay alive and make sure that her children are not in danger. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ FLORENCE CHANDLER MAYBRICK is a totally real person who actually went through all these events. It is obvious that she is innocent of the crime and is actually the victim, but Victorian society is so patriarchal and misogynistic that Florence doesn't stand a chance of justice. The first antagonist is her husband, James. He is abusive and jealous and turns into one of the greatest monsters in history - but he is replaced as antagonist by his brother, MICHAEL, who is an even bigger monster than James. James wants Florence to be a dutiful "Trophy Wife" in order to give himself more kudos amongst the cream of Liverpool society. When their marriage breaks down, James vows revenge on Florence, whom he calls "The Whore" - but he cannot bring himself to attack her directly, choosing instead to vent his rage on the prostitutes of Whitechapel because he sees them as representations of Florence's infidelity. Michael is a famous and wealthy composer. His songs are the talk of England. He has dined with royalty, he is rising rapidly up the ranks of the Order of Freemasons and he is feted wherever he goes. Florence's infidelities are an annoyance at first - hardly something to lead a man to murder, yet the peculiar behaviour of his brother, James, makes Michael suspect that more is afoot than a simple affair. Michael discovers the shocking truth about Jack The Ripper but instead of going to the police and announcing to the world that he is the brother of one of the greatest monsters ever to have lived, Michael decides to cover it up. He will deal with James by tricking him into poisoning himself to death. Michael realises that James's death might be investigated and so he hatches a plot to frame Florence for the murder and ensure her silence about Jack The Ripper by seizing control of all her assets and taking legal guardianship of her children. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Florence Maybrick died alone and unloved in a dirty, run-down shack in South Kent, Connecticut in 1941. Once a celebrated beauty, then slandered around the world as an evil murderer, in the end, she craved only the company of cats. Her life was destroyed, her children dead to her. She was the inspiration for Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the d'Urbervilles", yet she is largely a forgotten figure today. Her story deserves to be told. This is unlike any other Ripper project - and it’s totally true. I see this as a six-part mini-series with genuine transatlantic appeal. My family are from Liverpool. My ancestors were there at the time of these events. I have a passion for history and true stories. I was a history teacher and museum education officer. I have researched this topic thoroughly. The injustice suffered by Florence cries out to me.