I have been quite busy of late having to travel to Bath and back on frequent occasions due to my mother being in hospital. But I have managed to pop into the Arcade on a couple of occasions and it was during one of these visits that I found under a pile of books a copy of The Collected Poems of Rupert Brooke (With a Memoir).
This was not a surprising find as copies of this book are pretty common.
My edition dated from 1930 and was the nineteenth impression of the book which was first published in July 1918. I already have a couple of editions of this book so initially I ignored my find.
However, as I placed the book on to a shelf a newspaper cutting fell out which stirred my interest. It dated from April 1931 and was reporting on the unveiling of a memorial (on Easter Sunday) to honour Rupert Brooke. It was to be unveiled on Skyros where the poet was buried after his early death from blood poisoning in 1915.
The report was moving and very much of its time (the cutting was dated in pencil as being from a newspaper published on the 4th of April 1931).
But what I found really interesting, was a report about a female burglar named Isabella Brown which was on the reverse side of the cutting.
The story of Isabella’s fall from grace was contained in a column which was entitled;
GIRL’S HEEL PRINT IN A GARDEN.
Underneath also in bold headlines was the sub-header;
BURGLARY CHARGE.
So a young lady named Isabella Brown had strayed from the straight and narrow and now was in trouble with the police. The crime was a minor footnote of history and I would have been totally oblivious of it had I not picked up the Rupert Brooke book of poems.
Isabella was twenty-two at the time of her crime which means that she would have been born in 1908 or 1909 which at a stretch, means that she may still be with us. If my maths are correct, then Isabella would be between 108 and 109 if she is still alive.
But let’s go back to her twenty-second year when she had fallen foul of the law. Isabella was married and was accused of breaking into a house in Golders Green. To give you a proper feel of the newspaper report I am reproducing it in full;
Thediscovery of the imprint of a woman’s high heel in a garden was described at Hendon when Isabella Brown (22) was charged with burglary.
Brown a young married woman was alleged to have broken into a house in Hodford-road, Golders Green and stolen jewellery valued at £1000. She was also charged with stealing and receiving jewellery and a fur coat and other property.
HAT SHOP SEARCH
At the time of her arrest, it was stated that she was in possession of a £5 note, 32 £1 notes, a diamond watch, a diamond ring and two purses. At her home were found some of the other articles which were the subject of the charges.
Det-inspector Baker said he went to premises at Great College-street, Camden Town. It was a small, woman’s outfitting and hat shop. Brown said she was the owner.
While he was searching the premises the woman threw into the fire a card which he recovered. As he snatched it from the fire she said “I can burn my own property if I like.”
When he found jewellery Brown said she got it from a man whose name she did not know.
Brown was remanded in custody for a week.
I began wondering what happened to Isabella. Looking at the evidence, it did not seem that she was a casual thief but more of a career criminal. I wondered if the shop that she said she owned had been financed by her criminal activities. Without doubt, Isabella if she had been convicted, would have been sent to prison.
If she had gone to prison, I wonder if this would have shaken her up. Did she when released return to Camden Town a changed woman? The answers are lost in the mysteries of time. And I would not have been asking them or indeed writing this article if I had not found the newspaper cutting on that cool March day.
Was Isabelle Brown her real name or was it something plainer? The newspaper report noted that she was the owner of a small woman’s outfitting and hat shop. Did she use the name Isabella Brown as it seemed more up market for her business? Was the business indeed hers or just a front?
I think that Isabella was much more that a petty thief. She seemed to be quite organised, although she made plenty of mistakes. Why did she wear heels when committing the burglary in Golders Green? That seems rather odd to begin with. Did she see herself as a female Arthur J Raffles or the like? Why did she hide the loot in her home as it was obvious that the police would look there? What was the episode with the card and the fire about?
Taking Isabella forward a few years to the Second World War, would she have changed? Who like others would have done her bit and helped to dig in during the capital’s darkest hours. Or was she involved in the flourishing black market? The answers to these questions are open and will remain so.
Until yesterday I was not even aware that Isabella Brown existed. It was not the intention of the person who removed the cutting from the newspaper to exhibit the report of Isabella’s crime. This unknown person removed the cutting for posterity thats all. He or she must have loved the works of Rupert Brooke and just added the cutting to the book as a record of the event.
This was the book that I found in the Arcade eighty-five years later. What they did unintentionally, was to include a detailed report of Isabella’s crimes. It was a trick of chance, but an interesting one and is the reason I am writing this short article. I like what Voltaire said on the subject;
Chance is a word void of sense; nothing can exist without a cause.
If Isabella had not committed her crimes, then she would have not attracted column inches in the newspaper. It was by chance that the editor of this unknown newspaper approved the report of her crime.
Which was to be found exactly on the reverse of the report about Rupert Brooke.
It was by chance that the cutting was removed and placed in to the book all those years ago. Where it has remained to this day.
It was by chance that I found this book (it was hidden by many others) and that the cutting fell out attracting my attention. Due to my rather busy schedule, I had not planned to be in Hungerford that day but at the last minute things changed so I had a little free time. It was all down to chance.
If like me you like finding cuttings in a book, Do as I did, look on the reverse side. You never know what you are going to find.
I have been quite busy of late having to travel to Bath and back on frequent occasions due to my mother being in hospital. But I have managed to pop into the Arcade on a couple of occasions and it was during one of these visits that I found under a pile of books a copy of The Collected Poems of Rupert Brooke (With a Memoir).
The report was moving and very much of its time (the cutting was dated in pencil as being from a newspaper published on the 4th of April 1931).
So a young lady named Isabella Brown had strayed from the straight and narrow and now was in trouble with the police. The crime was a minor footnote of history and I would have been totally oblivious of it had I not picked up the Rupert Brooke book of poems.
But let’s go back to her twenty-second year when she had fallen foul of the law. Isabella was married and was accused of breaking into a house in Golders Green. To give you a proper feel of the newspaper report I am reproducing it in full;
At the time of her arrest, it was stated that she was in possession of a £5 note, 32 £1 notes, a diamond watch, a diamond ring and two purses. At her home were found some of the other articles which were the subject of the charges.
It was by chance that I found this book (it was hidden by many others) and that the cutting fell out attracting my attention. Due to my rather busy schedule, I had not planned to be in Hungerford that day but at the last minute things changed so I had a little free time. It was all down to chance.