Ugly as Sin: Women, Criminality and Photography in the 19th Century

Naomi Clifford


Regions:
London, Surrey
Notice Period:
Short (maybe less than one month's notice)
Type:
Professional
Fee:
Paid: £100 per talk (online or in person)
Category:
History
Updated:
7th October 2025

London, 1872: The killing of a French widow by her Belgian cook had all the elements of a huge scandal, so why did the press fixate instead on the alleged murderer’s physical appearance?

Naomi Clifford digs into theories about criminality and physiognomy, and looks at the part played by photography in the reputation of criminal women.

The murder is at the centre of her historical crime novel 13 Park Lane.

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About Naomi Clifford

Hello there!

I am Naomi Clifford, a history writer with a particular interest in the lives of women, especially those neglected by posterity. Although my focus is on the late Georgian and Victorian eras I have also strayed into the 20th century.

The subjects of my talks include: Mrs Meredith’s Mission: convict laundries in South London; Debutantes and Taxi Drivers: the London Auxiliary Ambulance Service in the Blitz; and On the Wings of Love: elopement and abduction in the Georgian era.

My talks are interesting, well researched, beautifully presented, and suitable for a general audience. The slides are image-led (very little text!).

When I am not giving talks, I write non-fiction and historical crime fiction. Under Fire tells the wartime story of a debutante and London volunteer ambulance driver; Women and the Gallows looks at the lives and crimes of the ‘unfortunate wretches’ hanged in England and Wales between 1793 and 1837; The Disappearance of Maria Glenn reveals the behind-the-scenes machinations of a notoriously litigated elopement; and The Murder of Mary Ashford re-examines an 1817 killing that led to a change in English law.

My debut historical crime novel 13 Park Lane, an Amazon #1 best-seller, centres on a notorious real-life London murder of 1872.

I am happy to travel anywhere in the Greater London area and I am comfortable with online presentation for audiences across the world.

I am an editor of vauxhallhistory.org, an online magazine of history articles about the South London district, chair of the Friends of Stockwell War Memorial and Gardens, for whom I wrote These Are Our Sons, a compendium of the life stories of over 500 men named on the memorial, and a past presenter of The Door History Podcast. I regularly give talks for at Readers and Writers festivals and Heritage Months, as well local history groups, U3A and the Women’s Institute.


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