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The Baby Farmers

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Dark true crime from Australia’s hidden underworld

If you like true crime that digs into the social world behind the horror, this is a gripping read. It is not just about a notorious case, but about poverty, women’s desperation, and the silence of a whole society. Readers who enjoy vivid historical detail and unsettling real-life courtroom drama will find it especially absorbing.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.
Just Arrived

The Baby Farmers

Regular price RM37.00 MYR
Unit price
per
Compare to estimated retail price: RM96.00 MYR  
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ISBN: 9781743314012
Authors: Annie Cossins
Date of Publication: 2013-06-01
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: History, Law, Sociology
Goodreads rating: 3.46
(rated by 199 readers)

Description

The most common murder victim in 19th century Australia was a baby, and the most common perpetrator was a woman. Annie Cossins pieces together the story of Australia’s most infamous legal trial to reveal an underworld of struggling mothers, unwanted babies, and a society that turned a blind eye. In October 1892, a one-month-old baby boy was found buried in the backyard of Sarah and John Makin, two poor baby farmers in inner Sydney. In the weeks that followed, 12 more babies were found buried in the backyards of other houses where the Makins had lived. This led to the most infamous trial in Australian legal history and exposed a shocking underworld of desperate mothers, drugged and starving babies, and a black market in the sale and murder of children. Annie Cossins pieces together a dramatic and tragic tale with larger-than-life characters: theatrical Sarah Makin; her smooth-talking husband, John; her disloyal daughter, Clarice; diligent Constable James Joyce, with curious domestic arrangements of his own; and a network of baby farmers stretching across the city. It offers a glimpse into a society that preferred to turn a blind eye to the fate of its most vulnerable members, only a century ago.
 

Dark true crime from Australia’s hidden underworld

If you like true crime that digs into the social world behind the horror, this is a gripping read. It is not just about a notorious case, but about poverty, women’s desperation, and the silence of a whole society. Readers who enjoy vivid historical detail and unsettling real-life courtroom drama will find it especially absorbing.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.