From The General Evening Post December 1, 1808: "On Tuesday night a coach was called by a gentleman, accompanied by a well-dressed woman. The coachman was ordered to drive to Manchester-square, where the Gentleman alighted; the coachman was ordered to set the Lady down in Soho-square; but on his opening the coach-door she was a corpse, having cut her throat with a penknife. It appeared she went by the name of Camell, and was under the protection of an Officer in the 15th Light Dragoons, who is now in Spain. She resided in Titchfield Street.--The motive which induced her to commit suicide is not known."

The Whisper

This news article assumes the lady committed suicide, but who made this determination and how did they make the decision to call it suicide?  The gentleman companion alighted before the woman’s body was discovered. Did he cut her throat and leave her to bleed out while the coachman drove on? Perhaps the Coachman in an attempt to assault or rob the lady killed her? 

There is no mention of a coroner’s inquest and the results of one, would most likely have been published as was common practice. Was the gentleman involved a high ranking person who used his influence and power to stop an Inquest from taking place to keep his name out of the press? Did an official coroner’s inquest take place or is it just implied that one occurred? Cross referencing different newspapers, I have found no evidence that any inquest took place.

Writer’s Prompt 

Was this "gentleman" a jealous rival? Or perhaps the Officer who was supposed to be in Spain was actually in London on a covert mission? Was the woman a spy who knew too much? If so, a carriage ride would be the perfect place to silence her. If the woman did commit suicide was it because she was seeking another protector and was rejected by her companion? If she relied on men to support her, and her current lover was in Spain, it might have been financially imperative that she seek another protector and rejection could mean total financial ruin. After all, in Georgian London a protection arrangement was basically a formal business transaction. If the Officer left her without a settlement and she could not find a new protector she would be ruined financially. If she was not murdered could such a situation and fear of financial ruin lead to suicide? Or what if the man she was with that night was the brother of her protector who she turned to for help? Perhaps she was pregnant and he rejects her plea for help and cruelly asks that the driver take her to Soho even though she lived in Titchfield street. Why Soho? 

What Soho and Manchester Square may reveal about this Tragedy.

The Context: In 1808, Soho Square was a strange mix of science and sin. It was home to the Royal Society's president, but also home to the "White House" (at No. 21), one of London's most notorious and luxurious brothels. In contrast Manchester-square was an upper-class neighbourhood. The man who accompanied the lady in the Hackney Coach could have dropped her off first. Was his decision to exit the coach first, made because he premeditated murdered her in the carriage? Or was directing the coachman to drive her to Soho a final act of cruelty on his part? Was he sending a silent message comparing his station in life and address in Manchester-square to hers? By sending her to Soho was he effectively putting her in her place–a brothel? After all she lived in Titchfield-street so why did he direct the driver to drop her in Soho?

Takeaway: Was the Gentleman’s directive to the coachman to set the Lady down in Soho his way of rejecting her by sending her to a place known to be the location of an upper class brothel?  As a woman who had lived under a man (or men’s) protection, being sent to even an upper scale brothel may have given her a sense of how worthless her life had become. This could very well have caused her to commit suicide. Or, if she was already dead or dying, did he ask the driver to take her to Soho because had she gone to Titchfield street, it would have been a very short drive and her body would have been discovered much sooner. Also, if she was able to speak and heard the man order the driver to drop her in Soho, why didn’t she contradict that order and ask to be driven home?