The Shrigley Abduction

This is the story of the notorious abduction in 1826 of Ellen Turner, a wealthy 15-year-old heiress, by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a 30-year-old British diplomat. It is a story of deception and the allure of "high society" with a strong Byronic character at its heart. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, after imprisonment for Ellen's abduction, founded the New Zealand Company and was more or less single-handedly responsible for the colonization of that country - where he has been accorded almost...
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This is the story of the notorious abduction in 1826 of Ellen Turner, a wealthy 15-year-old heiress, by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a 30-year-old British diplomat. It is a story of deception and the allure of "high society" with a strong Byronic character at its heart. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, after imprisonment for Ellen's abduction, founded the New Zealand Company and was more or less single-handedly responsible for the colonization of that country - where he has been accorded almost heroic status. Ellen, on the other hand, died in childbirth at the age of 19. The authors have researched all the extant records and have recreated the scandal and outrage surrounding this audacious and cruel act.