The End of the Road for a Murderess

What does a murderess do when she gets out of prison?  Edith Carew spent 14 years in prison for poisoning her husband Walter in Yokohama.  On her release from HM Prison Aylesbury, she moved to a small village in Wales, Cwm yr Eglwys, with one of her daughters.  She called her new home "Penfeidr" or, "end of the road" in Welsh.  It was, indeed, the end of the road for her.  She stayed in the village for the rest of her life.  In the link below a local villager recounts some of the village lore about Edith. 

One little tidbit that I love is that she spoke with a "cut-glass accent that intimidated the local villagers".  Probably the only frustration from writing Gunboat Justice was not knowing what accent the main protagonists spoke with.  Did HS Wilkinson retain an Irish accent after 40 years in the East; what about his son Harrie who went to Oxford?  Did Robert Mowat, a Scot, who went to school in England speak with a Scottish or English accent?  Did Allan Mossop retain any of his South African accent.  The transcripts and biographies do not tell you. Knowing how Edith spoke gives a whole new complexion to her story.  She would have been considered upper class in Yokohama and beyond suspicion.  Perhaps this is why here lawyer John Lowder believed in her so much.  

Edith lives on a tiny bit in Cwm yr Eglwys.  The bamboo from her famed oriental garden can still be seen today. 

The picture below is of the Carew family in Yokohama in happier days.  Walter is standing in the doorway; Edith is seated on the steps and Mary Jacob, their governess, who Edith and John Lowder falsely accused of killing Walter, is standing in front of Edith.

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Carew Family