Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share 19. Jane Toppan
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
19. Jane Toppan
Lucy Worsley investigates the historical crimes of women from a contemporary, feminist perspective.
In this episode, Lucy is joined by Dr Katherine Ramsland, a professor of forensic psychology at DeSales University, to visit Massachusetts in New England, USA and discover how one nurse became a notorious serial killer.
Jane Toppan is a well-respected and successful private nurse in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She spends her time moving from one family to another, caring for them until they either recover, or pass away.
In June 1901, Jane gets a visit from her friend, Mattie Davis. But upon her arrival, Mattie falls ill. Jane takes care of her until she dies a week later. After this, Jane moves into the Davis family’s house to help them cope with the loss of their mother. But soon, one by one, the other members of the family die in quick succession.
Jane is onto her next job, but suspicions are soon raised about the care she’s providing. She is followed secretly by a policeman as the bodies of the Davis family are exhumed and tested for poison. Traces of morphine and atropine – substances that Jane Toppan would have had access to in her role as a private nurse – are discovered and Jane is arrested.
To help Lucy explore this case, historian Dr Elizabeth DeWolfe visits Massachusetts General Hospital Archives to discover what it was like to be a nurse at the turn of the 20th century. She also visits the Boston Public Library to see how the press reacted to the murderous nurse.
Lucy and Katherine discuss Jane’s case and the impact it had on the relatively new profession of nursing. Lucy also wants to know how Jane Toppan compares to serial killers today.
We think of nurses as caring, virtuous and we trust them with our life. Jane Toppan will make you think twice.
Producer: Hannah Fisher
Readers: Laurel Lefkow and Jonathan Keeble
Sound Design: Chris Maclean
Series Producer: Julia Hayball
A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4
View all episodes
By BBC Radio 4
4.7
451451 ratings
Lucy Worsley investigates the historical crimes of women from a contemporary, feminist perspective.
In this episode, Lucy is joined by Dr Katherine Ramsland, a professor of forensic psychology at DeSales University, to visit Massachusetts in New England, USA and discover how one nurse became a notorious serial killer.
Jane Toppan is a well-respected and successful private nurse in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She spends her time moving from one family to another, caring for them until they either recover, or pass away.
In June 1901, Jane gets a visit from her friend, Mattie Davis. But upon her arrival, Mattie falls ill. Jane takes care of her until she dies a week later. After this, Jane moves into the Davis family’s house to help them cope with the loss of their mother. But soon, one by one, the other members of the family die in quick succession.
Jane is onto her next job, but suspicions are soon raised about the care she’s providing. She is followed secretly by a policeman as the bodies of the Davis family are exhumed and tested for poison. Traces of morphine and atropine – substances that Jane Toppan would have had access to in her role as a private nurse – are discovered and Jane is arrested.
To help Lucy explore this case, historian Dr Elizabeth DeWolfe visits Massachusetts General Hospital Archives to discover what it was like to be a nurse at the turn of the 20th century. She also visits the Boston Public Library to see how the press reacted to the murderous nurse.
Lucy and Katherine discuss Jane’s case and the impact it had on the relatively new profession of nursing. Lucy also wants to know how Jane Toppan compares to serial killers today.
We think of nurses as caring, virtuous and we trust them with our life. Jane Toppan will make you think twice.
Producer: Hannah Fisher
Readers: Laurel Lefkow and Jonathan Keeble
Sound Design: Chris Maclean
Series Producer: Julia Hayball
A StoryHunter production for BBC Radio 4
More shows like Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley
View all
In Our Time
5,415 Listeners
From Our Own Correspondent
367 Listeners
Global News Podcast
7,697 Listeners
History Extra podcast
3,204 Listeners
Business Daily
528 Listeners
More or Less: Behind the Stats
889 Listeners
World Business Report
282 Listeners
Newshour
1,044 Listeners
The Life Scientific
230 Listeners
Dan Snow's History Hit
4,631 Listeners
Historic Royal Palaces Podcast
449 Listeners
Curious Cases
813 Listeners
Newscast
658 Listeners
Evil Genius with Russell Kane
368 Listeners
Talking Tudors
691 Listeners
You're Dead to Me
2,989 Listeners
British History: Royals, Rebels, and Romantics
160 Listeners
British Scandal
2,416 Listeners
Gone Medieval
1,736 Listeners
Not Just the Tudors
1,935 Listeners
Sport's Strangest Crimes
71 Listeners
Uncanny
660 Listeners
Dua Lipa: At Your Service
988 Listeners
Betwixt The Sheets: The History of Sex, Scandal & Society
1,158 Listeners
Powerplay
6 Listeners
Believe in Magic
607 Listeners
History's Heroes
493 Listeners
After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal
815 Listeners
The Global Story
162 Listeners
Miss Me?
291 Listeners
The History Podcast
38 Listeners