Broadside entitled 'Awful Suicide'

Commentary

This report begins: 'A full and particular Account of the Abduction of a Young Lady, and awful Suicide committed by a Captain M. on Saturday last, near Stratford; with an account how the Lady was providentially saved from being murdered by him.' Taken from the newspaper, 'The Edinburgh Courant'. Published in Edinburgh for John Lyons, this broadside sold for a penny.

A sensationalist piece, recounting how a young lady, Miss ---, was taken, under considerable duress, to the country near Stratford, England, by her potential suitor, Captain M. Captain M had intended to stab Miss --- and then kill himself with slow-acting laudanum, a tincture made from opium, which he had taken earlier. Fortunately for Miss ---, the laudanum took effect earlier than anticipated and Captain M was unable to carry out the murder. He later died 'in the greatest agonies'.

Broadsides are single sheets of paper, printed on one side, to be read unfolded. They carried public information such as proclamations as well as ballads and news of the day. Cheaply available, they were sold on the streets by pedlars and chapmen. Broadsides offer a valuable insight into many aspects of the society they were published in, and the National Library of Scotland holds over 250,000 of them.

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