March 2023 - Notorious Women

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Throughout history there have been women who have found themselves in the public eye due to their actions or behavior. This month we will be reading about women that were considered scandalous, shocking or downright depraved according to the standards of their day.

Some examples of women who created scandals are Bonnie Parker, Mata Hari, Wallace Simpson, the biblical ladies Eve, Delilah and Salome, historical women such as Cleopatra, Lady Godiva and Lucrezia Borgia. There are famous women murderers such as Myra Hindley, Aileen Wuornos and Lizzie Bordon and, for a while Patricia Hearst was the most notorious woman in the United States. Movie stars such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor were considered notorious – Monroe for her lifestyle and her famous lovers, Taylor spent some time as the most hated women in the world when she became the “other woman” in Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher’s marriage. There are even fictional characters that would fit this month’s theme, characters such as Amber St. Clair from Forever Amber, Cathy Ames from East of Eden, and Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With the Wind.

Let us know which woman of ill repute that you are planning to read about and whatever you chose to read, enjoy your book and don’t forget to list it on our Wiki which can be found here: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/Reading_Through_Time_Challenge

I am planning on reading Godiva by Nicole Galland

I'm probably going to do either Madame Bovary or Anna Karenina. I've also got Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace.

We'll also find some scandalous – though at times more privately so – women in Henry James. Daisy Miller. Christina Light of Roderick Hudson, who reappears after her marriage as The Princess Casamassima (James's only instance of reviving a character for a second novel). Kate Croy in The Wings of the Dove. Et aliae. This could be a good excuse to set myself a-crackin' at some of James that I haven't read (like Wings) or read too many year ago (like Daisy and Casamassima).

I had firmly planned to read Behind Closed Doors, a book a by Hugo Vickers about Wallis Simpson, for this, so I'm happy to see Wallis Simpson mentioned in the introduction to this thread and see that it fits! However, Anna Karenina and Madame Bovary are tempting as well, as I have wanted to read both of them for ages... Fortunately, there is yet time to decide!

I think I may take a shot at Mauriac's Thérèse Desqueyroux, generally considered his greatest work. On impulse, I just bought an en français edition (Livre de poche) at less than $7 in a "like new" copy from a 5***** seller on ABE, though I may have a copy dating back decades around the house somewhere. I never did get much past the beginning of the book years ago, but I recall it as relatively easy French and it's fairly short, so it could be a good shot at doing a little bit of French language refreshment for me.

And anticipating the September theme, I do have a copy of Claudine à l'école that I can put my hands on pretty quickly. Since I not that many years ago read Colette's four Claudine novels in Antonia White's translation, Claudine à l'école mightn't be that intimidating for me en français.

Will need to think a bit on this one.

When does fame become notoriety, I wonder.

I think it often notoriety comes first, with fame coming because of it. I think of the Kardashians for one example, who only became famous for their behavior on camera and offl I can think of many more. and of course it does depend on ones idea of notoriety; for some it means excentric or different for otheras it means scandalous. and are men considered notorieous in the same way women are, or is it a word used only for women?

just thought of a book that would fit this theme, tho I already read it little by Edward Carey one of my fav authors. The story is about Madame Tussade and the French Revolution. Never been big on her wax museums, till i read it.

>When does fame become notoriety?

By usage. lol

webster 1828- says well known; openly talked about- but includes second meaning of good sense of word- used by Shakespeare; seems to differentiate between notoriety with no negatives and notorious implied negatives

1938-widely known -usually, negative; now considers first meaning of notoriety to be a state of notorious- hence negative; but includes 2nd meaning without negative implication

That was helpful, wonder what OED says (going to google)

ETA well known for being bad a notorious criminal notorious for something/for doing something The country is notorious for its appalling prison conditions.

Interesting, used for a place rather than a person.

>10 EGBERTINA: I actually wondered if it always had negative connotations. But if we want to keep it to that for this theme, I'm sure I'll have something on the tbr. (I imagine I'll have something either way.)

I will be reading in on the joke for this theme. The women here are among the earliest comedians* to make it on stage or radio despite the hate and all of the other hurdles thrown their way. Were they notorious? They had to be.

" It spans decades, from Moms Mabley’s rise in Black vaudeville between the world wars, to the roadhouse ribaldry of Belle Barth and Rusty Warren in the 1950s and '60s, to Elaine May's co-invention of improv comedy, to Joan Rivers's and Phyllis Diller’s ferocious ascent to mainstream stardom." Looking forward to laughing a lot.

>13 cindydavid4: May West was certainly notorious- not in a criminal way- just misbehaving'.

joan & phyllis more raucous than notorious; we had evolved

>12 LibraryCin: Seems like you could have positive notoriety; but to be notorious was usually not good.

I will enjoy thinking what to read for this theme. I have a novel based on the life of Countess Elizabeth Bathory, a 17th century Hungarian mass murderer,, that may be an option. Or I may pick a biography of a famous woman who exhibits one or more features of notoriety, whether criminal, or just controversial or whatever.

I am torn about what book to read for this category. I have so many books about women that would fit and I can't decide if I want to read fiction or nonfiction. I finally decided that I am going to read one of each. I am going to read Farewell My Queen byChantal Thomas for this category. This is a novel about the last days of Marie Antionette. I have had the book on my shelves for a long time and it is time to get it read and out of the house.

I have two choices for nonfiction that I am considering. One is a group biography titled Lives of the Muses: Nine Women and the Artists They Inspired by Francine Prose. This book is rather long (420 pages) and it is doubtful that I would get it read by the end of the month. However, the list of women in the book interests me. It ranges from the woman who was the muse of Samuel Johnson to Yoko Ono. The book is about the concept of muse and what that means.

The other book I am interested in reading is Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes. This book takes a new look at many of the notorious women in Greek myths and legends. It is a shorter book (320 pages). I am not sure which one I will do but it will be one of these two.

I will be taking a road trip in two weeks with 20 hours of driving time. That means that I will be looking for a nice sized book to listen to along the road. I picked She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs by Sarah Smarsh. I don't know that I would consider Dolly Parton to be notorious because nowadays she is not considered to be an outlier bad girl. However, early in her career it wasn't quite that way. The early queens of country music cut quite a swath through the Nashville scene and so she could be considered notorious in that sense. Last year I read two of Loretta Lynn's memoirs and have developed and interest in the women of the country music scene. Since our library has this book in the recorded version I am going to get it checked out and start listening.

>17 benitastrnad: pandora jar is fabulous, along with her other books especially a thousand ships, all would fitted theme well!

>18 cindydavid4:
Thanks. I pulled Farewell My Queen and Pandora's Jar off my shelves and I think I will start Pandora's Jar later tonight.

When I thought of the theme, I didn't really stop to think exactly what "Notorious" means to me. I am looking forward to seeing how everyone interprets it and what books are going to be read.

I am not sure that it had ever really registered with me that the word "notorious" is really so close to infamous in its usage. I had always known that it has the negative connotations but it had always felt a degree removed from infamous in my mind.

On one of the other historical fiction threads somebody mentioned Beryl Markham. I have the novel Circling the Sun somewhere on my shelves, so maybe I will get it down and read it. Then I thought of Isak Dineson. Who would be the better notorious woman? Dineson or Markham? Both of them stole Dennis Hatton-Smith from somebody.

Then there is The Bolter by Frances Osborne. This is the biography of Idina Sackville and the Happy Valley Set in Nairobi, Kenya. I have a copy of that book in my house.

So many notorious women and so little time to read all the books.

>22Dineson or Markham Gosh bothof them!

McLain does a decent novel about them but Id read Markams west of the night for the real skinny on that love triangle, as well as the amazing early flights she took. (tho that is more of a biography, so not historic fiction)

Reading in on the joke I wondered about a man telling this story but I shouldn't have worried. Here is what he said in his intro

"Ive tried to present their lives and their work with accuracy, empathy, and appreciation, to see them as ordinary women as well as popular entertainers to understand them in the context froom which they emerge and indicate their deserved place in the history of comedy, of women in entertainment, of American popular culture. I am in awe of every one."

he also differtiates between stand up, the subject of this book from comic acting (lucille Ball, Carol Bernett) from musical comedy (Ethal Mermann, Carol Channing, Pearl Bailey I wonder if he will write separate books about these groups as well

Any way Im excited to read about these notorius women whe dared break in to a mans world

I think that Isadora Duncan fits this theme since her dance and behavior were both considered notorious during her lifetime. "Isadora: A revolutionary in art and love" has excellent reviews--not available in large type or kindle, so I can't read it.

List: https://www.isadoraduncanarchive.org/reference/books

I also have books about artists muses. Painted Kiss by Elizabeth Hickly is a work of historical fiction about Emilie Floge, the muse of Gustav Klimt. She is the model for the painting "The Kiss."

The more I thought about notorious women the more of them I found I had books for on my shelves. I have Wide Sargasso Sea about Mrs. Rochester in Jane Eyre. Pope Joan about the woman who allegedly became Pope in the 9th century. When I thought I only had a few books about notorious women it turns out that I have many to choose from.

Ahhh, looking through what's on my tbr for women, history, nonfiction is bringing up a lot of royalty and other less-known women or women who are not seen in a negative light! (Helen Keller, Eva Peron, Anne Frank...)

Might need to find something not on the tbr.

If anyone is interested, I have a recommendation about Bonnie and Clyde (it's both, not just Bonnie):

Go Down Together / Jeff Guinn

I wasn't sure I was going to be able to find something among my ROOTs books that would fit this category. For fiction, I've already read Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, and Vanity Fair (Becky Sharp surely fits the theme), although it was years ago and I may well want to reread them someday. However, I'm trying to read more of my unread ROOTs right now.

But I went looking and found that I have a copy of Cleopatra: a life on my shelf, so that will work!

>27 LibraryCin: I will second Cindy's recommendation for Go Down Together by Jeff Guinn - that was a 5 star read for me.

I'm leaning toward reading something on Lizzie Borden, but I need to find what's out there about her. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Eliza Lynch, 'The Messalina of Paraguay' was pretty notorious in South America in the 1850s/60s - you can read how she became half of a dictatorial team that declared war on most of South America and in doing so, led to the death of about 70% of the adult male population of Paraguay in The Shadows of Elisa Lynch by Sian Rees.
In her defence, her notoriety seemed to be down to being a strong-willed woman in a society that did not really make the type at home, and the book makes it clear that she did her best to curb some of the excesses of her semi-deranged lover, the dictator of Paraguay Francisco Lopez. Really, given the effects of the war she was at the centre of, it's quite surprising she isn't better known.

>30 LibraryCin: not about her, but that reminded me of Winnie Ruth Judd a similar case in AZ, written by Jana Bommersbach, a long time az journalist and author. Remember reading it decades ago but still remember how well done it was.

>4 MissBrangwen: I would also like to read the Wallis Simpson book, Behind Closed Doors.

Review of in on the joke is here https://www.librarything.com/topic/347243#8082984

a book indeed filled with notorious women!

>16 john257hopper: I decided in the end to read Joanna: The Notorious Queen of Naples, Jerusalem and Sicily by Nancy Goldstone. The title at least fits the theme entirely and it's a colourful slice of Medieval European history. Only started it yesterday but looking forward to getting stuck into it.

Her book the four queens includes her as well as her three sisters. Fascinating

I just finished up a work of nonfiction about a notorious woman. Dolly Parton. The book I read was She Come By It Natural: Dolly Parton and the Women Who Lived Her Songs by Sarah Smarsh. This was a look at the career of the famous, or infamous, entertainer, Dolly Parton. This book was written by a feminist scholar and for that reason the book is written using a feminist lens. It is a short book, but it is academic in tone. It is enjoyable, but if you are not into dissecting song lyrics and sussing-out hidden meanings in popular culture this is not the book for you. Dolly Parton is a very good songwriter, singer, and entertainer. However, she is best known for her famous bust line and her unabashed sexuality. This book is about how she has taken this image and has owned it. I found it well researched and well documented, peppered with anecdotes and excerpts from actual interviews it is approachable and clearly intended for a popular audience. There were so many parts of this book that made me downright mad because sexism is rampant in the culture of today and we should be so past that.

I read this book as part of my ongoing reading about the Country Music industry and its continued anti-female bias. And because of Dolly's famous bust and all the ribald jokes, innuendos, and denigration about her. This book shed some light on all of that. Now, I await a good biography of the woman.

>36 cindydavid4: Hi Cindy, just taken a look at this. It seems to be about an earlier generation, but includes Sanchia, her step grandmother who partly brought her up.

ok thanks.

The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century / Sarah Miller
3.5 stars

Lizzie Borden was 32-years old when her father and stepmother were murdered with an axe while she was home. Their servant Bridget was also home at the time. Rhymes indicate that Lizzie murdered them both, but she was acquitted of the murders. This book takes us through what little was known of Lizzie pre-murders, the day of the murders, and the trials (and all other steps leading up to the trial: indictment, preliminary hearing, etc).

I have never before read anything about Lizzie Borden and had assumed she had murdered those whom she was accused of murdering (not even sure I could have told you it was her parents). This book, I believe, is geared to a YA audience, though I didn’t think it really read that way. The author did a lot of research on this and tried to present both sides. It turns out nothing Lizzie said (it was pretty much all contradictory) during the indictment was included at the trial, nor was key testimony of one witness. Even if they had been included, I’m not convinced it would have been enough to convict her. That being said, I’m not sure how anyone else could have done it. But, I’ve only read this one book.

There were some photos included at the end and a bibliography and notes. I was quite shocked at the look of the skulls (quite bashed in!) of Mr. and Mrs. Borden. And who knew there was (is?) a “Lizzie Borden Quarterly” journal!? I thought this was a good place to start to read about Lizzie and I am likely to find and read more.

>35 john257hopper: I've now finished this biography, which was a very colourful and dramatic slice of Medieval European history focusing on a little known and fascinating ruler, one of the most powerful female rulers of the Medieval age. "During her long, eventful reign, Joanna held together a large and far-flung dominion, which included Provence and all of southern Italy, and even expanded her rule, however briefly, into Sicily and Piedmont.....For more than thirty years, this queen fed the poor and cared for the sick; built churches and hospitals; reduced crime and promoted peace; protected trade and introduced new industry within her borders. She guided her subjects to recovery from the many instances of plague, war, famine, and depression endemic to the second half of the fourteenth century." So, why is she called the "notorious" Queen? This is because of the accusation that she murdered her first husband Andrew of Hungary, though she was cleared of this in a trial in 1348. However, this set off a very turbulent period of threatened and actual invasion, negotiating with 5 or 6 successive popes, marital turmoil with the first three of her four husbands, and seeing the deaths of her young children by Andrew and by her second husband Louis of Taranto. Joanna's final fall came at the hands of another Hungarian invasion, after she fell foul of the battles of rival Popes at the time of the Great Schism of the Papacy, an event "which would bitterly divide the church for the next forty years and be as damaging to Europe, and especially to the kingdom of Naples, as any war". Her murder as a wretched prisoner in a remote castle I found particularly sad and bathetic, an ignominious end to a great ruler. In conclusion, the author rues the fact that Joanna's story "when it is recounted at all, focuses entirely on her notoriety, as the queen who murdered her husband, and not on the many impressive accomplishments of her reign." A great read.

I have completed my read of Godiva by Nicole Galland. Although historians now believe that her nude ride never took place, the author has imagined a great story that held my attention and was plausible.

I’ve been planning to read Daphne DuMaurier’s My Cousin Rachel for this topic. Have finally been able to begin reading and am hoping to finish before end of month.

I had initially planned to read Behind Closed Doors by Hugo Vickers, a book about Wallis Simpson, but I just finished Spare by Prince Harry and feel like I have had enough of the British Royal Family for some time. Accordingly, I decided to enter that one into this challenge, because it also fits: Many chapters feature memories of Princess Diana, which some people would see as notorious. Of course even Meghan might fit that description, but that doesn't work so well because of this group's aim to read about the past.
I still hope to read Behind Closed Doors soonish because it will be interesting to compare the two - or rather three - stories!

My review of Spare can be found here.

For scandalous women, you can’t get forget about Theresa Longworth. She brought her putative husband, William Charles Yelverton, to trial three times to try to prove that they had been married even though he was legally married to another woman who he’d taken up with after he was done with Theresa. The ins and outs of their relationship (there was no denying there was one of those) were covered in Wild Romance: The True Story of a Victorian Scandal.

>45 Familyhistorian: Someone else not to forget is Rachel Jackson {Wikipedia}, wife of President Andrew Jackson. Rachel's divorce from her first husband had not been properly finalized (long distances and changing state governments in a frontier society had caused some confusion), making their marriage bigamous, which became an issue in the 1828 Presidential election. She died shortly before the inauguration, a fact which her husband blamed on the stress caused by his political opponents.

Jackson's loyalty to his wife's memory caused him to support Peggy Eaton {Wikipedia} in her scandalous marriage to Jackson's Secretary of War, which caused the split between Jackson and John Calhoun along with the break-up of Jackson's first cabinet, which in a convoluted way led Martin Van Buren to become Jackson's second-term Vice-President and ultimate presidential successor.

Rachel Jackson is the title character of Irving Stone's The President's Lady, which became a movie starring Charlton Heston and Susan Hayward. I've never read the book or seen the movie, but ages ago I read Robert Remini's Jackson biography and I'm generally aware of the history of the "Petticoat Affair." Your mention of a Victorian scandal brought Rachel Jackson, Peggy Eaton, and the "Petticoat Affair" beck to my mind as a politically momentous constellation of "scandalous women" in early American politics.

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Anyway, I've got another hundred or so pages to go in Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace, which I should be finishing this weekend.

I finished Cleopatra: a Life by Stacy Schiff a couple of days ago. This is quite a good retelling of Cleopatra's story. The big problem that historians have when trying to learn about Cleopatra is that all the writings about her that have survived are from the Romans, who were not favorably predisposed to her. Unfortunately, that has created a picture of a woman considered a scheming seductress whom Cecil B. DeMille apparently called the "wickedest woman in history." Schiff does her best to tease out the truth about Cleopatra from the information that is still available to us, and I learned quite a bit about Cleopatra that I did not already know. She was an intelligent ruler who led Egypt itself to a period of peace and prosperity. There were no revolts against her in Egypt, and she seems to have been a popular ruler there. She spoke many languages. She is a far more complex person than traditional history would lead us to believe.

I would recommend Cleopatra: a Life to anyone who wants to know more about Cleopatra and this period in Roman history.

>1 DeltaQueen50: Great fun reading this month,thanks for choosing this theme!

I finished My Cousin Rachel this morning and am so glad to finally have read it. The suspense keeps building in this plot due to the narrator Philip Ashley’s increasing obsession with his cousin Rachel and with his ever increasing suspicion that she poisoned her previous husband, his cousin Ambrose. His paranoid and violent nature and Rachel’s mysterious evasiveness bring the novel to its devastating conclusion. This is my favorite of the DuMaurier novels I’ve read.

>46 CurrerBell: Thanks for the information. I didn't know about Rachel Jackson's ordeal which is probably down to the fact that I don't know much about American presidents. I didn't learn US history in school.

I just finished Painted Kiss by Elizabeth Hickey. This was a work of historical fiction set in Vienna, Austria between the years 1880 and 1945. It is about the notorious woman, Emilie Floge. She was a member of Vienna's Second Society due to the successful position her father held. The Floge's were a Protestant middle class family, who lived in and among the "Second Society" and whose social life was part of the "Second Society" of Vienna. Emilie was also Gustav Klimt's life long companion and muse. She became a respected fashion designer and business woman in her own right and as such, she was a member of the avant-garde art community of Vienna and was an advocate for radical "reform" dressing for women. She favored flowing loose garments and unstructured designs. However, she had to make a living so she also designed and sold conventional garments at her couturier salon as well.

Floge was a woman with a reputation in Vienna. She was a free thinker and was Klimt's life-long campanion. It is not known exactly what their relationship was because Klimt had numerous lovers during the 40 years of their relationship, but when he died in 1918 she inherited half of his estate and was made executor for his children. It is thought by art historians that she and Klimt are the models for "The Kiss," but that is not known for sure. Klimt did paint several portraits of her. Floge's collection of Klimt works were confiscated during WWII but most of them were returned to her. She died in 1952 and most of her art collection was given to the state of Austria.

The Painted Kiss was the author's debut novel and it was good. The word I would use to describe it was atmospheric. It set the tone and the temper for turn-of-the-century Vienna giving the reader a real sense of the time and place that was. Historically it had some inaccuracies, but it is historical fiction, so it doesn't have to be 100% truthful. I thought it one of the more successful works of historical fiction I have read recently. I would encourage anybody who is interested in that art of the early Twentieth Century to read this book, as it really does set a tone.

I watch PBS Masterpiece Mystery and the series Vienna Blood has become one of my recent favorites to watch. There was an episode in that series about a woman fashion designer in Vienna and after reading this book and doing a bit of research on Floge it seems clear that Emilie Floge is the inspiration for that character. I think that the series also gives a really good picture of the social life of the "Second Society" that was so much a part of Vienna in the early Twentieth Century and that was totally destroyed by the events of WWII.

Finally finished up Alias Grace Wednesday morning. Not a bad book, well-written with its shifting points-of-view, and an interesting period piece for historical fiction, but I didn't see a whole lot of point to it. Not at all bad, but far from my favorite Atwood.

I really haven't been doing well at all this year with reading. Nine books so far. Part of it was that I really got bogged down in the single-volume edition of Churchill's WWI memoirs. And a lot of real life intervening too.

>51 benitastrnad: Another possible inspiration is from the excellent book of that artist and time is lady in gold The Lady In Gold is the story of Gustav Klimt's portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, a wealthy Jewish-Austrian woman who's family was forced to flee during the Nazi occupation. The painting was stolen and placed in the Museum in Vienna for many years. The last part talks about her neices attempts to bring the painting back to her family. Very well done, and made into a movie of "woman in gold'

>53 cindydavid4:
I read that one. That was how I found out about Painted Kiss. I was looking for other books about Gustav Klimt and about turn-of-the-century Vienna. I also have been watching the Vienna Blood series on PBS and have really enjoyed it. I have several of the books by Frank Tallis - The Libermann Papers - but have not started them yet. All of this reading and watching put me onto the hunt for books about that time period and place. Vienna was a very progressive city at that time, and that is part of the reason why what happened there after the Anschluss and in World War II was so tragic. Painted Kiss was a good book and very atmospheric. I do recommend it for people interested in Klimt or Vienna. Several times, it made me think longingly of having coffee and cake at Cafe Sperl.

thanks for that. Ill look for the painted kissI don't know enough about the Anschluss; is there a book youd recommend about it?.

>55 cindydavid4:
According to the books I read there isn't much about it anywhere. That is part of the problem. I think I would read a book about collaboration and it seems to me that there was one written about what happened in France. I'll have to do some thinking about it.

After hosting/moderating this group in June, I realized that I had not entered in my completed books into the Wiki. That is now done.

I recently finished Daniel Defoe's classic, Moll Flanders. Lower class life in early 18th century London was a tough go, all right, and Newgate Prison was a horrible place to land. But the novel is really a story of a tough-minded woman who survives on her own terms despite a dizzying series of setbacks and misfortunes.

>58 rocketjk: She is an amazingly colourful and tough survivor, isn't she, Moll

>59 john257hopper: Indeed, yes, although I'm still trying to sift through in my mind what I think Defoe actually thought of her, or, to put it another way, what the various messages were that he was trying to relate to his audience.

In some circles, Emiline Lucas (a.k.a. Lucia) and Elizabeth Mapp are considered "notorious women," all right, and also hilarious. I've recently finished Mapp and Lucia the fourth book in E.F.Benson's series of the same name about this pair of upper middle-class busybodies ruling the social sets of their respective small English towns between the World Wars. In this fourth novel (which has also sometimes been published with the title Make Way for Lucia), the two finally come together, and things do not go smoothly. The series is a set of wonderful comedies of manners, quite enjoyable if one goes in for this sort of gentle (most of the time) satire.

Am I too late? I would like Evil Angels for the notorious women topic. The woman is Lindy Chamberlain - proved innocent but reviled by many Australians to this date, for the murder of her baby on 7th August 1980. It had been taken by a dingo. This has been proven now without a doubt but she was notorious for 20 years - and for some, will always be.

>62 kjuliff: It's never to late to add a book to a category!

>63 DeltaQueen50: OK. Thanks. I’ll do a short review.

Injustice in Australia

Evil Angels
By John Bryson
Category: Notorious Women
Media: Paperback
Rating 3.5

On 17th August, 1980 Lindy Chamberlain’s baby was taken from a tent in a popular camping spot near Uluru in Australia’s Northern Territory, and killed. For well over seven years Australia was divided. Did a dingo kill the baby or was Mrs Chamberlain, an until then unknown Australian housewife, make up the story.

She was found guilty and spent three years in prison. She was found guilty because she stood up for herself in court, didn’t behave like a “normal” mother and was of a “strange”religion” - a Seventh Day Adventist! That is, sheer ignorance condemned her. Had she been tried in Sydney or Melbourne it was unlikely she would have been convicted.

But those from all states who believed in her guilt were adamant, and the topic was one of many a dinner party.

The forensics were doubtful. Indigenous Australians reported that dingos were known to take young babies, but they were not believed. Eye-witnesses placed her well-away from the tent when the baby was taken.

Lindy was eventually found not guilty, and on February 1986 was released from prison.

John Bryson ‘s book does an excellent job of detailing the death of the child’s, Azaria, and the events that followed.

Meanwhile many in Australia still think Chamberland is guilty.

A notorious woman who should have been able to live her chosen quiet life as a suburban church-going mum.

Lindy Chamberland with Azaria C1980

>1 DeltaQueen50: I’m relatively new to this group and just posted in the Notorios Women section, but how do I add it to the Wiki?

>65 kjuliff: First off, I vividly remember that story mostly from the film that Merle Streep did I suppose.

>66 kjuliff: If you go to the top of the Reading Through Time Main Page and click on {see more} you will see the links to our two Wikis. You want the Monthly Themes Wiki. Under the list of contents, you will find the March 23 listing for "Notorious Women", click on that. The March list comes up and by clicking on the edit, you can fill in the information on your own book which you can obtain from the book's main page.

>67 DeltaQueen50: The only accent Streep got wrong was in that movie. It had a different name I think in Australia.

Thanks for the wiki tip. You might like to check its correct.

>68 kjuliff: LOl - yes, I think you got it!