Martha Stewart Not Cowed By Prospect of Jail

Martha Stewart, the US's fallen domestic guru, today threw herself upon the public's mercy by declaring her innocence in a newspaper advertisement.

"I am innocent and will fight to clear my name," Ms Stewart said in USA Today, a day after she was indicted for securities fraud and obstruction of justice.

The indictment stems from her sale of almost 4,000 shares of ImClone Systems on December 27 2001, the day before a disappointing food and drug administration report that sent the biotech company's stock price tumbling. If convicted, she could be sent to prison.

For many in the US, it will seem inconceivable that this paragon of good taste and sophistication could end up behind bars. Ms Stewart is Nigella Lawson, Charlie Dimmock and Carol Vorderman all rolled into one.

If you wanted a beautiful house, with a beautiful garden, and planned to host wonderful dinner parties, you turned to the ubiquitous Martha. She dispensed advice through a retail media empire that consisted of her syndicated TV programme, magazines, books and website.

Born to a working-class Polish-American family in New Jersey, she worked her way up as a model, stockbroker and caterer to eventually reign over a $1bn (£600m) empire.

Despite, or because of, her success, Ms Stewart inspires devotion and loathing in equal measure. While fans eagerly imbibed her fashion, household and food tips, others were sceptical, finding something chilling about her obsession with domestic perfection and detail.

After all, wasn't there something odd about someone who designed her own stock certificates and marked the flotation of her company by providing 3,000 breakfasts of scones, croissants and egg-and-herb-filled brioches at the New York stock exchange?

To her credit, Ms Stewart probably plays up the icy blonde perfectionist persona that drives people crazy as much as it seduces. She is, in many ways, a perfect Alfred Hitchcock heroine.

In a recent interview with the New Yorker, she said: "The thinner the chopsticks, the higher the social status. Of course, I got the thinnest I could find. That's why people hate me."

Even if people do not hate her, they are having a few laughs at her expense. A mock magazine cover of Martha Stewart Living Behind Bars has circulated on the internet, while the comedy host Conan O'Brien quoted her as recommending that "a subpoena should be served with a nice appetiser".

Meanwhile, business has suffered. In November, her company, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (doesn't the name say it all?) reported a 42% drop in profits, while its stock market value fell dramatically after the investigation started, before recovering half its losses. The case has cost her about $400m (£241m) so far in legal fees and lost business opportunities.

One of the tactics pursued by her lawyer is the "my client is a victim" approach, asking whether she is being singled out for her status as a celebrity and as "a woman who has successfully competed in a man's business world".

Victim or not, Ms Stewart is carrying on as usual. Last week, the Washington Post reported, she showed viewers how to turn dishtowels into colourful pillows, aprons and breadbaskets. "A dish towel," she confided, "can be many things."