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Kidnapped from her prestigious Liverpool boarding school on March 7, 1827, 15-year-old Ellen Turner was led to believe her family would be financially ruined if she didn\u2019t marry her 30 year-old abductor, Edward Gibbon Wakefield.\nBefore she was able to deduce that his story was a sham, Turner was whisked off to Gretna Green and inadvertently passed over the keys to her father\u2019s estate, Shrigley, to her assailant - until an intervention from the House of Lords, and a trial that captured Britain\u2019s imagination.\xa0\nIn this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly divulge the loopholes to England\u2019s marital age limits; explain how \u2018impure\u2019 marriages were a get-rich-quick habit for Wakefield; and reveal the extraordinary next chapter for this conniving scamster \u2026\xa0\xa0\nFurther Reading:\n\n\u201810 of History\u2019s Worst Marriages\u2019 (History Collection, 2018): https://historycollection.com/10-of-historys-worst-marriages/5/\xa0\n\n\u2018Gretna Green: The bit of Scotland where English people go to get married\u2019 (BBC, 2014): https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28679430\xa0\n\n\u2018Wakefield & the NZ Company\u2019 (CBHS History, 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We-VfjxHbRA\xa0\n\n\nLove the show? Join\xa0\U0001f334CLUB RETROSPECTORS\xa0\U0001f334 to DITCH THE ADS and get an additional full-length episode every SUNDAY!\nPlus, get weekly bonus bits, unlock over 70 bits of extra content and support our independent podcast.\nJoin now via\xa0Apple Podcasts\xa0or\xa0Patreon.\n\xa0\nWe'll be back tomorrow! podfollow.com/Retrospectors\n\xa0\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Sophie King.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2023.\n\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices