Cabinet Maker William Brodie's Double Life
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Character Based Upon His Escapades
Jun 6, 2009
His public persona hid another character altogether. Brodie accumulated massive gambling debts and caused great fear in Edinburgh.
Edinburgh Prominent Family
William Brodie was the eldest of eleven children (many died in infancy) in a respected, prominent family. His father was the foremost cabinet maker and a Town Council member.
William was described as a bit of a dandy who expressed interest in going to sea. Many youths of the day were compelled by stories of sailors participating in the Seven Years’ War. His father prevailed and William learned the trade, but had no wish to succeed him in the business.
Cabinet Maker had Gambling Addiction
William enjoyed his family’s position in the old town. He also enjoyed the activities of pub life and gambling. He inherited the large family home, the business, and a large sum of money when his father died in 1780. Respected as a member of Edinburgh’s society, he proved to be an excellent cabinet maker. He became a member of the Town Council and, like his father, was Deacon (head) of the Incorporation of Wrights and Masons. (Wright is a Scottish word for cabinet maker.)
Double Life of Deacon William Brodie
William’s gambling addiction and need to support two mistresses and five children led him into a life of crime. Part of his job was to install and repair door locks. Brodie often went into customers’ houses and shopkeepers’ premises to take measurements for new cabinets or other woodwork. Most people kept their keys on a latch on the back of the door.
When there was opportunity, William made impressions of the keys in putty or wax. His accomplice, English locksmith George Smith, made the new keys. At night, the two men returned to the locations to take items William identified during the day. With each successful robbery, they became more daring. They carried on their thievery for many years. No one suspected the respectable Deacon Brodie of the late night robberies.
They stole money from the Royal Exchange, gold and diamond jewelry, and fine silver items. Watches, jewelry, silks, and satins vanished in the night. In August 1787 they took a large amount of expensive fine black tea from a grocer. In October they entered the Library of Edinburgh University to steal the three-centuries-old silver College mace.
His Majesty’s Excise Office Burglary and Brodie’s Arrest
A state of alarm prevailed in old town Edinburgh. Deacon Wright maintained his persona while he repaired a shopkeeper’s locks and loudly denounced the criminals. Brodie’s ultimate downfall was an armed raid on His Majesty’s Excise Office. He planned the burglary and took on two more accomplices. One of them was caught and gave evidence against the rest of the gang.
Brodie escaped to the Netherlands, but was arrested and returned to Scotland to stand trial. A search of his home revealed William’s large collection of duplicate keys. Found guilty, he was hanged outside Edinburgh’s Old Tolbooth on October 1, 1788. William Brodie’s double life was over.
Author Robert Louis Stevenson and Jekyll and Hyde
Author Robert Louis Stevenson was keenly interested in dual personalities. He developed a script for a play based upon Deacon Brodie. The first two editions were printed for private circulation only. He and author W. E. Henley reworked “Deacon Brodie or The Double Life: A Melodrama in Five Acts and Eight Tableau” which was publicly distributed in 1892.
A demonstration of the interplay of good and evil, Stevenson’s 1886 novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was based upon the double life of Deacon William Brodie.
Sources:
Deacon Brodie: Father to Jekyll and Hyde by John. S. Gibson,Published by The Saltire Society 1993
The Social Life of Scotland in the Eighteenth Century by Henry Grey Graham, Published by A. & C. Black 1899
