Edward Marshall Hall

Sir Edward Marshall Hall, (16 September 1858 – 24 February 1927) was an English barrister who had a formidable reputation as an orator. He successfully defended many people accused of notorious murders and became known as "The Great Defender". Marshall Hall practised as a barrister in the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, when the public took a great interest in the sensational court cases of the day. Big criminal and civil trials were widely reported on by the popular press on a daily basis. As a consequence, he and other successful barristers of the day became very famous. The widespread belief that he was a much better orator than a lawyer may explain his failure to achieve elevation to the High Court Bench, which was a source of great disappointment to him. Personal life Born in Brighton, the son of the eminent physician Alfred Hall, Marshall Hall was educated at Rugby School and St John's College, Cambridge. Unusually, he left Cambridge after his fourth term to embark on what would now be regarded as a gap year in Paris and Australia, before returning to complete his law degree. In 1882 he married Ethel Moon. The marriage was unhappy; the couple were never compatible and were frequently apart. They were legally separated in 1889. The next year Ethel became pregnant by a lover and died of a botched abortion; a seamy, very public lawsuit followed in which the lover, the abortionist, and several others were indicted in respect of Ethel's death. Marshall Hall's guilt over his part in Ethel's fate had a profound effect on his career: he became famous for the impassioned nature of his defences of women maltreated by men. He subsequently married Henriette "Hetty" Kroeger, with whom he had one daughter, Elna. His elder brother was John Cressy-Hall, a first-class cricketer and merchant. His brother, despite initial business success, later lived in poverty in South Africa. Marshall Hall supported him financially, sending money to him via Archdeacon Gaul, which John resented. Camden Town Murder