In 1789, Mary Wade told the Old Bailey she was eleven — and was sentenced to hang for stealing a child’s frock. She and fourteen-year-old Jane Whiting had taken it from an eight-year-old girl and pawned it. The verdict read: “Guilty, Death.” She spent 93 days in Newgate. Then the King recovered from his madness, and every woman on death row was spared in celebration. Mary was transported to Australia instead. She died in 1859, aged 84, with more than 300 living descendants. Today they include former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd. Send this to someone who thinks the past was gentler. #BritishHistory #WomensHistory #GeorgianHistory