摘要：The Masterpiece miniseries Dark Angel (2016), directed by Brian Percival and written by Gwyneth Hughes, is based on David Wilson’s Mary Ann Cotton: Britain’s First Female Serial Killer (2013). Wilson, a criminology professor at Birmingham City University, uses historical forensic evidence to build a case against Mary Ann ultimately finding her guilty of at least sixteen, possibly seventeen, murders. Wilson views Mary Ann’s motivations as “purpose-oriented” as opposed to “pleasure-oriented” in that she was not a sadist as much as a psychopathic opportunist (Wilson 2013: 17). His forensic evidence is convincing. According to historian Judith Flanders,I started off firmly believing that Mary Ann Cotton was innocent – that indeed there had been no murders. David Wilson’s meticulous research, his eye for detail, his forensic ability to reconstruct the material that survives, and assess the probabilities where gaps remain in the record, opened my eyes. (Flanders qtd. in Wilson 2013: viv)
