The Wench is Dead (TV)
Encyclopedia
"The Wench is Dead" is an episode of the British
television detective mystery show Inspector Morse
. It was first broadcast on ITV
in 1998.
(John Thaw) and Chief Superintendent Strange (James Grout) attend an exhibit entitled "Criminal Oxford: Crime and Punishment in Victorian Times" (Colin Dexter is in attendance). During a lecture by Dr. Millicent Van Buren (Lisa Eichhorn), a visiting professor from Boston University
, Morse starts to feel ill. After the lecture Dr. Van Buren wants to speak at length with Morse, but he feels worse, excuses himself, and then passes out in the lavatory, to be found by Strange on the floor grasping his stomach.
While hospitalized he is diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer, which his doctor ascribes mainly to Morse's excess consumption of alcohol. To pass the time in his recovery he reads the book by Van Buren entitled "Criminal Detection in the Victorian Period", about the 1859 "Oxford Canal Murder", and becomes convinced that a miscarriage of justice occurred in the trial that followed, Victoria Regina v. J Oldfield and Others.
In 1859 the body of a woman is found floating in the Oxford Canal
. A man, later identified as Donald Favant, who had stayed the previous night at The Bear, an inn at Woodstock, was seen walking along the river bank (or tow path) away from where the body was found. The body of the woman was presumed to be that of Joanna Franks (Juliet Cowan) who was taking the fly boat (canal barge) the Barbara Bray owned by the canal boat company J. & M. Pickford & Co., from Coventry
to London to join her husband Charles.
Three boatmen, crew of the Barbara Brey, Rory Oldfield, Alfred Musson, and Walter Towns, are accused of the murder of the woman, who was positively identified by her husband. Two of the boatmen are hanged. But Morse does not believe that they were the perpetrators.
Joanna had previously been married to a music-hall entertainer, "The Great Donavan, Emperor of all illusionists." Donavan had died in Ireland, so she remarried Franks, who went on ahead to London for work and then when he had saved up enough had sent for her.
With the assistance of Adele Cecil (Judy Loe), who was introduced in the previous episode, and Police Constable Adrian Kershaw (Matthew Finney), Morse uncovers several inconsistencies in the trial and suspects insurance fraud. She could have paid six shillings for a third-class rail ticket, and been there a lot faster, instead of the four shillings she paid for the fly-boat. She accused the boatmen of being rude and drunk, but then right after her complaint to the canal clerk, she was seen drinking and smiling with them. Thomas Wootton, a 15-year old and the fourth boatman for the Barbara Brey, was not charged, but testified for the prosecution. The size of Joanna's shoes don't seem to fit with her dress, which had been altered. Her knickers, which had been described as torn or ripped, where actually cut with a knife deliberately.
Although he is unable to exhume the body of Joanna Franks, Morse travels to Bertraghboy Bay, on the west coast of Ireland
to open the grave of Frank Donovan. Morse figures out that Donald "Don" Favant and Charles Franks are aliases derived from Frank "F. T." Donavan. The grave is empty.
Sergeant Lewis
does not appear in this episode because he is out of town on an inspector's course.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television detective mystery show Inspector Morse
Inspector Morse (TV series)
Inspector Morse is a detective drama based on Colin Dexter's series of Chief Inspector Morse novels. The series starred John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse and Kevin Whately as Sergeant Lewis. Dexter makes a cameo appearance in all but three of the episodes....
. It was first broadcast on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
in 1998.
Plot
Detective Chief Inspector MorseInspector Morse
Inspector Morse is a fictional character in the eponymous series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter, as well as the 33-episode 1987–2000 television adaptation of the same name, in which the character was portrayed by John Thaw. Morse is a senior CID officer with the Thames Valley...
(John Thaw) and Chief Superintendent Strange (James Grout) attend an exhibit entitled "Criminal Oxford: Crime and Punishment in Victorian Times" (Colin Dexter is in attendance). During a lecture by Dr. Millicent Van Buren (Lisa Eichhorn), a visiting professor from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
, Morse starts to feel ill. After the lecture Dr. Van Buren wants to speak at length with Morse, but he feels worse, excuses himself, and then passes out in the lavatory, to be found by Strange on the floor grasping his stomach.
While hospitalized he is diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer, which his doctor ascribes mainly to Morse's excess consumption of alcohol. To pass the time in his recovery he reads the book by Van Buren entitled "Criminal Detection in the Victorian Period", about the 1859 "Oxford Canal Murder", and becomes convinced that a miscarriage of justice occurred in the trial that followed, Victoria Regina v. J Oldfield and Others.
In 1859 the body of a woman is found floating in the Oxford Canal
Oxford Canal
The Oxford Canal is a narrow canal in central England linking Oxford with Coventry via Banbury and Rugby. It connects with the River Thames at Oxford, to the Grand Union Canal at the villages of Braunston and Napton-on-the-Hill, and to the Coventry Canal at Hawkesbury Junction in Bedworth just...
. A man, later identified as Donald Favant, who had stayed the previous night at The Bear, an inn at Woodstock, was seen walking along the river bank (or tow path) away from where the body was found. The body of the woman was presumed to be that of Joanna Franks (Juliet Cowan) who was taking the fly boat (canal barge) the Barbara Bray owned by the canal boat company J. & M. Pickford & Co., from Coventry
to London to join her husband Charles.
Three boatmen, crew of the Barbara Brey, Rory Oldfield, Alfred Musson, and Walter Towns, are accused of the murder of the woman, who was positively identified by her husband. Two of the boatmen are hanged. But Morse does not believe that they were the perpetrators.
Joanna had previously been married to a music-hall entertainer, "The Great Donavan, Emperor of all illusionists." Donavan had died in Ireland, so she remarried Franks, who went on ahead to London for work and then when he had saved up enough had sent for her.
With the assistance of Adele Cecil (Judy Loe), who was introduced in the previous episode, and Police Constable Adrian Kershaw (Matthew Finney), Morse uncovers several inconsistencies in the trial and suspects insurance fraud. She could have paid six shillings for a third-class rail ticket, and been there a lot faster, instead of the four shillings she paid for the fly-boat. She accused the boatmen of being rude and drunk, but then right after her complaint to the canal clerk, she was seen drinking and smiling with them. Thomas Wootton, a 15-year old and the fourth boatman for the Barbara Brey, was not charged, but testified for the prosecution. The size of Joanna's shoes don't seem to fit with her dress, which had been altered. Her knickers, which had been described as torn or ripped, where actually cut with a knife deliberately.
Although he is unable to exhume the body of Joanna Franks, Morse travels to Bertraghboy Bay, on the west coast of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
to open the grave of Frank Donovan. Morse figures out that Donald "Don" Favant and Charles Franks are aliases derived from Frank "F. T." Donavan. The grave is empty.
Sergeant Lewis
Inspector Lewis
Robert "Robbie" Lewis is a fictional character in the Inspector Morse crime novels by Colin Dexter. The "sidekick" to Morse, Lewis is a Detective Sergeant in the Thames Valley Police, and appears in all 13 Morse novels. In the television adaptation, Inspector Morse, he is played by Kevin Whately...
does not appear in this episode because he is out of town on an inspector's course.