The Baby Farmers

Download or read book The Baby Farmers written by Annie Cossins and published by Allen & Unwin. This book was released on 2013 with total page 317 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The most common murder victim in 19th century Australia was a baby, and the most common perpetrator was a woman--a fascinating story of the most infamous legal trial in Australia In October 1892, a one-month-old baby boy was found buried in the backyard of Sarah and John Makin, two wretchedly poor baby farmers in inner Sydney. In the weeks that followed, 12 more babies were found buried in the backyards of other houses in which the Makins had lived. This resulted in the most infamous trial in Australian legal history, and exposed a shocking underworld of desperate mothers, drugged and starving babies, and a black market in the sale and murder of children. Annie Cossins pieces together a dramatic and tragic tale with larger than life characters: theatrical Sarah Makin; her smooth-talking husband, John; her disloyal daughter, Clarice; diligent Constable James Joyce, with curious domestic arrangements of his own; and a network of baby farmers stretching across the city. It's a glimpse into a society that preferred to turn a blind eye to the fate of its most vulnerable members, only a century ago.