Alice Arden - Aftermath

Aftermath

Chambers Book of Days mentions the event entering local legend. "It was long said that no grass would grow on the spot where Arden’s dead body was found; some, in accordance with the superstitions of the times, attributed this to the murder; while others declared that 'the field he hadde cruelly taken from a widow woman, who had curst him most bitterly, even to his face, wishing that all the world might wonder on him.' "

In 1592, the events were dramatized in the play "Arden of Faversham". The paternity of the play has been long disputed, with William Shakespeare being the most prominent of the candidates. The play was later adapted by George Lillo into a domestic tragedy.