Stead by his Peers 
W.T. Stead by his daughter, Estelle
W.T. Stead & the Armstrong Case
The Eliza Armstrong Case was the criminal prosecution of Stead and his accomplices for the abduction and indecent assault of thirteen-year-old Eliza Armstrong. From the impoverished Marylebone area of London, Eliza was the real face behind the character of Lily, who's tragic fate in "A Child of Thirteen Bought for £5" concluded the first installment of the "Maiden Tribute". Having heard during his investigations that unscrupulous parents were willing to sell their own children into prostitution, Stead sent his agent, reformed prostitute Rebecca Jarrett, into Marylebone to purchase a child, to show to how easily young girls could be procured. The child procured was Eliza Armstrong, allegedly sold to Jarrett by her own mother for just £5. Though never physically harmed, Eliza was nonetheless put through the motions of what a real child victim would have had to experience, including being "certified" a virgin by an abortionist midwife and being taken to a brothel where she was drugged with chloroform. She was then packed off to France under the care of the Salvation Army, leaving Stead to re-invent her as Lily in the Pall Mall Gazette. The subterfuge, however, did not prevent Eliza's mother from recognising the character of Lily in the "Maiden Tribute"as her daughter. Claiming she had been duped into parting with Eliza, she went to the police, who brought charges of abduction and indecent assault against Stead and his accomplices. After two lengthy trials, Stead and three others, including Jarrett, were convicted at the Old Bailey and incarcerated. Stead was sentenced to three months in Coldbath-in-the-Fields prison, but was later transferred to Holloway as a first class inmate.
Proceedings at Bow Street
• Introduction • 1st Day' Proceedings (Wednesday, September 2, 1885) • 2nd Day's Proceedings (Monday, September 7, 1885) • 3rd Day's Proceedings (Tuesday, September 8, 1885)
Proceedings at the Old Bailey
• Mr. Webster's Opening Statement (October 23, 1885) • The Evidence of Mrs. Elizabeth Armstrong (October 23, 1885) • The Evidence of Mrs. Elizabeth Armstrong (October 24, 1885) • The Evidence of Mrs. Broughton (October 25, 1885) • The Evidence of Mr. Charles Armstrong (October 26, 1885) • W.T. Stead's Opening Statement (October 28) • Mr. Charles Russell on Rebecca Jarrett (October 29) • The Evidence of Rebecca Jarrett (October 29, 1885) • The Evidence of Rebecca Jarrett (October 30, 1885) • The Evidence of Rebecca Jarrett (November 2, 1885) • The Evidence of W.T. Stead (November 2, 1885) • W.T. Stead's Closing Statement (November 4, 1885) • Mr. Webster's Closing Statement (November 5, 1885) • Mr. Justice Lopes' Summing up (November 7, 1885) • Mr. Justice Lopes' Sentence (November 10, 1885)
The Press on the Armstrong Case
• A Missing Daughter (July 13, 1885) • The Press on the Armstrong Case (November 11, 1885) • Lloyd's Weekly London Newspaper (August 9, 1885) • Lloyd's Weekly London Newspaper (September 27, 1885)
Miscellaneous
• Letter from Eliza Armstrong to Mrs. Comb (1885) • Mr Stead in Prison (Undated)
