The Ballad of Maria Marten

A classic real-life murder mystery thrillingly retold for a contemporary age. Summer, 1827. In a red barn Maria Marten awaits her lover. A year later her gruesomely murdered body is found in a grain sack, barely identifiable. Maria’s story sent shock waves throughout the country. Her murder became national news, inspiring writers and film makers down the ages. The sort of gruesome tale that had all the hall marks of a classic crime drama – a missing body, a country location, a disreputable squire and a village stuck in its age old traditions. But in all this hysteria Maria’s own story gets lost. Until now. Hal Chambers and Beth Flintoff’s spine tingling retelling rediscovers her story, bringing it back to vivid, urgent life.