Dr Emily Cockayne

Emily Cockayne is associate professor in early modern history at the University of East Anglia. She is the author of Penning Poison: A History of Anonymous Letters (Oxford University Press, 2023)

Olivia Colman as Edith Swan in a scene from Wicked Little Letters with her mouth open, looking shocked.

Wicked Little Letters: the true story of Edith Swan, Rose Gooding and the Littlehampton Libels

When poison pen letters caused chaos.