Arden, Alice (1516–1551)
Arden, Alice (1516–1551)
English murderer. Born in 1516 in England; burned at the stake in Canterbury to cheers of hundreds, Mar 14, 1551; stepdau. of Sir Edward North; m. Thomas Arden (murdered Feb 15, 1551).
Began affair with family servant named Richard Mosby (or Mosbie), which she continued after her marriage to Thomas Arden, a man of high standing who was twice her age; was assisted in her plot to murder husband by one of his enemies, a man named Green, whom she paid to hire 2 assassins, known as Black Will and Shakebag; after assassins killed Thomas with help from Mosby, made sure husband was dead by stabbing him 7 or 8 times (Feb 15, 1551). Once the crime was discovered, the outcry was so enormous that at least 9 people were ultimately executed in connection with the killing, including at least 2 who were innocent of murder; a play about the murder, now known as Arden of Faversham (1st published anonymously as The Lamentable and True Tragedie of M. Arden of Feversham in Kent, 1592), continues to inspire debate over identity of the author, whom many believe to be Shakespeare.