Marie LaFarge

Marie-Fortunée LaFarge, née Capelle (January 15, 1816 - November 7, 1852) was a Frenchwoman who was convicted of murdering her husband by arsenic poisoning in 1840. Her case became notable because it was one of the first trials to be followed by the public through daily newspaper reports as well as the first person convicted largely on direct forensic toxicological evidence. However, questions about her guilt had divided French society to the extent that it is often compared to the better-known Dreyfus affair.

Early Life

Marie LaFarge was born in Paris in 1816, the daughter of an artillery officer, said to be a descendant of Louis XIII, Henri IV and Charlemagne through her grandmother. Her father died suddenly of a hunting accident when she was twelve, and while her mother remarried shortly thereafter, also died seven years later. She was adopted when she was eighteen by her maternal aunt, who was married to the secretary-general of the Bank of France. It was not a good arrangement because Marie and her aunt did not like each other. Despite the fact that her foster parents treated her well and sent her to the best schools, she was kept aware of her status as a cousine pauvre. As a matter of fact, by her aunt's social standing, her marriage dowry of 90,000 francs, while considerable, was not that impressive, and Marie was left with feelings of inadequacy.

Related Topics:
Paris - Artillery - Louis XIII - Henri IV - Charlemagne - Bank of France

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Which fueled her pride and ambition. Despite her realtionship with her aunt, Marie was given an education worthy of her social status. In her school she met daughters of the moneyed aristocracy. She used every means to persuade them that she too came from a wealthy family, and she became envious when she saw her friends married rich noblemen, and she wanted to have the same for herself. But that decision was not for her to make.

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As Marie remained unmarried when she turned 23, one of her uncles took over the responsibility for finding a husband for her. However, Marie did not know that he engaged the services of a marriage broker. And only one candidate who fit the advice of her father that "no marriage contract should be made with a man whose only income is his salary as a subperfect" was produced.

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