The Trial of Charles Random de Berenger, Sir Thomas Cochrane, commonly called Lord Cochrane, the Hon. Andrew Cochrane Johnstone, Richard Gathorne Butt, Ralph Sandom, Alexander M'Rae, John Peter Holloway, and Henry Lyte for A Conspiracy In the Court of King's Bench, Guildhall, on Wednesday the 8th, and Thursday the 9th of June, 1814

Set against the turbulent backdrop of the Napoleonic wars, this courtroom record captures a dramatic June 1814 trial in London’s King’s Bench. Ten men—including a celebrated naval hero and several merchants—are accused of conspiring to spread false reports of Napoleon’s death, hoping to spark a peace‑time surge in government securities and profit from rising fund prices.

The transcript, rendered in the brisk shorthand of parliamentary scribe William Brodie Gurney, unfolds the prosecutors’ meticulous case. Listeners will hear vivid testimony about forged letters, fabricated dispatches and the alleged plan to manipulate financiers across the city. The legal language and procedural detail offer an immersive glimpse into early‑19th‑century justice, while the stakes of war, finance, and reputation create a tense, almost theatrical atmosphere that carries the drama right into the gallery.