title: The Poisoner: The Life and Crimes of Victorian England's Most Notorious Doctor
author:  Stephen Bates 
description: "Sprightly look at the parochial mid-19th-century England that produced an infamous serial poisoner." <i>Kirkus Reviews</i><br /><br />"<i>The Poisoner</i> is meticulously researched, cleverly written, and, even better, a wonderfully entertaining read." Judith Flanders, author of <i>The Invention of Murder: How Victorians Revelled in Death and Detection and Created Modern Crime</i><br /><br />A remarkable achievement . . . Vivid, eloquent, and vital. <i>Observer</i><br /><br />I could not wait for this book to come out, and it doesnt disappoint. <i>The Times</i><br /><br />An essential read. <i>Guardian</i><br /><br />"A fascinating retelling. Stephen Bates returns to a crime that shocked the VIctorian nation and created the blackest of myths."Peter Moore, author of <i>Damn His Blood</i><br /><br />"One of the most insightful accounts of murder I have ever read."Rupert Matthews, author of <i>Jack the Ripper's Streets of Terror</i><br /><br />
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  # On the uncertainty of the signs of murder in the case of bastard children
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  ### William Hunter
  
  
    
  This page formatted 2007 Blackmask Online.  
  
  
  http://www.blackmask.com  
    
  
      
  
  Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
  
  
  http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images
  
  
  generously made available by The Internet Archive/American
  
  
  Libraries.)
  
  
    
  ON
  
  
    
  THE UNCERTAINTY
  
  
    
  OF
  
  
    
  THE SIGNS OF MURDER
  
  
    
  IN THE CASE OF
  
  
    
  BASTARD CHILDREN.
  
  
    
  BY THE LATE
  
  
    
  WILLIAM HUNTER, M.D. F.R.S.
  
  
    
  PHYSICIAN EXTRAORDINARY TO THE QUEEN,
  
  
    
  AND MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AT PARIS.
  
  
    
  London: PRINTED FOR J. CALLOW, CROWN COURT, PRINCES STREET, SOHO.
  
  
    
  1818.
  
  
    
  
  
    
  TO THE
  
  
    
  _Members of the Medical Society_.
  
  
    
  Read July 14, 1783.
  
  
    
  GENTLEMEN,
  
  
    
  In the course of the present year, one of our friends, distinguished
  
  
  by rank, fortune, and science, came to me up