In the nineteenth century it was criminally easy to bump off unwanted relatives.A Household Thrown into Chaos Plumstead village, 2 November 1833.Wealthy landlord, George Bodle is taken violently ill.He dies within hours. When his wife, daughter and two maids are also taken ill, there is only one terrifying explanation . . . arsenic poisoning. A Murder Most FoulYet, while arsenic was readily available over the counter in the 1800s, poisoning was almost impossible to prove.As the evidence mounted up, a picture emerged of bitter family rivalries, brewing resentment, greed and ill-will.A Sensational TaleIn this account of one of history's most notorious poisonings, Sandra Hempel tells the story of the birth of toxicology - the science of poison - and of a mystery which gripped the nation.