The Armstrong Girl

In November 1885 Victorian England was scandalised by a court case which lifted the veil on prostitution and the sex trade.

In the Old Bailey dock was the editor of the Pall Mall Gazette, which had recently published a series of articles on the sex trade; a reformed brothel keeper; and the second-in-command of The Salvation Army, Bramwell Booth.

The group was accused of abducting a 13 year old girl, Eliza Armstrong. The group had set up the scheme to expose the trade in young girls.

The resulting scandal triggered a massive petition and the raising of the Age of Consent from 13 to 16. Many MPs and other men in positions of power were furious, and the campaigners were indicted under the 1861 Abduction Act. Booth would be acquitted, but others went to prison, martyrs for justice.

The Armstrong Girl is the story of that scandal, and of the Christians who fought for this essential change in the law.