Startling news arrived this week from the Caribbean with the discovery of Fanny Blake's obituary. It has long been thought that Mrs. Blake found her end in a watery grave at the Stoney Grove estate. The newly-found obituary has refueled speculation that she murdered her husband at the great house in 1784.

As a young woman, Fanny married wealthy entrepreneur William Blake, who built Stoney Grove as a wedding gift for his beautiful bride.  His death two years after the marriage gave rise to rumours of foul play that were never substantiated.

The widow Blake disappeared in 1804, supposedly still stricken with anguish from the death of her husband.  Until now, she was thought to have drowned in the lake on the grounds of the great house. If the obituary is indeed hers, it gives further credence to the popular view that Mrs. Blake committed murder, and shrouded her disappearance from England in mystery to cover the crime.  Whatever the true circumstances, it now appears that Fanny Blake left the drizzle of England behind for life in the tropics, establishing a trend that generations of middle-aged British widows have since embraced.