Leigh Straw on the true crime story that gripped Australia in the 1920s in 'The Ballroom Murder'

Good Reading Podcast

In August 1925, Audrey Jacob shot dead her former fiance Cyril Gidley in full view of hundreds of guests at a charity ball in Perth's Government House. This was supposed to be an open shut case of wilful murder – until lawyer Arthur Haynes is assigned to her defence. Haynes' ability to find the right legal angle and to play the press and the jury, led to a sensational result. In this episode Gregory Dobbs chats to Leigh Straw about Perth and Fremantle in the 1920s, the emerging phenomenon of the flapper, the importance of a savvy and well-connected lawyer, and Leigh Straw's obsession with true crime and the untold stories of women.