Is Wicked Little Letters based on a true story? All about the real-life neighbors' lewd letter scandal

Thea Sharrock's Three Wicked Letters, now streaming on Netflix, tells the story of two neighbors and a feud stemming from a string of hate mail. In 1920, Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) accuses her free-spirited Irish immigrant neighbor Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley) of writing her vulgar letters, but Rose denies it. Their little squabble escalates when other members of their seaside English neighborhood start receiving obscene anonymous letters, too. But once officer Gladys (Anjana Vasan) suspects there is foul play afoot, she sets out to find the true author behind this crime.

For such a scandalous affair, you might think this anti-penpal period piece is too absurd to actually happen in real life. Was Wicked Little Letters based on true events? Were Edith Swan and Rose Gooding real people? What were some of the insults made in those lewd letters? Here's everything you need to know about the real libel story behind Wicked Little Letters.

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Wicked Little Letters.

Who were Edith Swan and Rose Gooding?

In 1920, Edith Swan and Rose Gooding were next-door neighbors who lived in Littlehampton, West Sussex, England. Swan lived at home with her father Edward, brothers Stephen and Ernest, and her mother Mary Ann. Like her mother, Swan was a stay-at-home laundress. She also had a fiancé serving in Iraq.

Rose Gooding lived with her husband Bill, her two kids, her sister Ruth Russell, and Ruth's three children in a more chaotic household. But the Goodings were known for being a rambunctious household, where arguments would often break out. The whole neighborhood would be able to hear Rose spout foul-mouthed obscenities and insults at others. Moreover, Rose and Ruth had numerous illegitimate children, which was frowned upon in Littlehampton.

Several fictionalized details from the film mostly involve omitting both parties' family members. Edith is shown as an only child. For Rose Gooding, many of her family members, including her second child, Ruth, and her children, are not present. Unlike Buckley's portrayal, Gooding was not Irish, as she was born in Lewes, Sussex, England. Additionally, Edith Swan and Rose Gooding were much younger than the film depicted them to be. The feud began when Swan was 30 and Gooding was 28, compared to their actress counterparts Colman and Buckley, who have a 16-year age gap.

In contrast to Wicked Little Letters, which has a strong diverse cast, the individuals involved in the scandal were all white and of British origin. In reality, Rose's husband, Bill Gooding (played by Malachi Kirby), was a white sailor 12 years her senior. Gladys Moss, the first West Sussex Police Constable, was also of white British descent.

What really caused the Wicked Little Letters scandal?

At one point, Edith and Rose were good friends. They shared items and recipes for each other to use, putting meaning behind "love thy neighbor." The Swans soon took issue with the Goodings' overflowing dustbins in their shared backdoor garden.

This then escalated when a dispute arose between Rose, Bill, and Ruth on Easter Sunday, 1920. The argument pertained to Rose alleging that Bill and Ruth had an affair, which led to the birth of Ruth's third child. Swan got herself involved as she sent a letter to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), accusing Gooding of physically abusing her newborn nephew, Albert. Once NSPCC came, they saw no evidence, and the report was dismissed.

Edith already knew that Rose was not a well-regarded person in the community compared to her, so she could get away with libel. She sent a postcard to herself saying: "You old cow, mind your own business and there would be no rows." Swan accused Gooding for penning the letter, thus starting her vicious cycle of slander.

The letters started off at the Swans with Edith and her brother Earnest receiving one. The letters went to everyone who knew the Swans — that being their entire Littlehampton seaside. With the Swans being a respected member of the community, the police believed Edith's accusations against Rose without proof, and Rose was sent to prison. To add insult to her boy-who-cried-wolf injury, Edith hired a private investigator to find out "who penned the letters."

What was the libel scandal that Wicked Little Letters is based on called?

Many referred to the Gooding vs. Swan libel case as the Littlehampton Letters. If you were the Daily Mail, it'd be referred to as the Seaside Mystery. Pick your poison on the better title.

What were some of the insults from the letters?

Edith Swan's letters had crude language that could be a model for today's culture of online hate comments. Her writing would use a lot of the f-word. One of Swan's anonymous letters read, “You can talk about us as much as you like you dirty cows.....You are bloody dirty or you would clean the yard sometimes you bloody rotten buggers.”

How long did the scandal go on for?

The saga of the Littlehampton letters took place from 1920 and 1923. After Rose Gooding was wrongfully convicted twice, it was Gladys Moss who caught Swan red-handed sending letters. Once prosecuted, Swan was sentenced to 1-year imprisonment with hard labor.

Where to watch Wicked Little Letters?

Wicked Little Letters is currently streaming exclusively on Netflix.

If you don't have Netflix, the film is available to rent and buy at whatever digital retail platform you use to store your movie library, such as Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, or Fandango at Home (formerly Vudu).