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Laddar... The Murder of Helen Jewett: The Life and Death of a Prostitute in Nineteenth-century New York (1998)av Patricia Cline Cohen
True Crime (5) Laddar...
Gå med i LibraryThing för att få reda på om du skulle tycka om den här boken. Det finns inga diskussioner på LibraryThing om den här boken. In The Murder of Helen Jewett, author Patricia Cline Cohen uses the titular murder to examine the social, political, and cultural workings of Jacksonian-era New York City and the greater Northeast of the United States. Her brilliantly-researched narrative traces the social connections between the victim, the murderer, and all interested parties, using their experiences to shine a light on clashing cultural mores in the 1830s. Cline's greatest weakness is also her greatest asset: speculation. For most of the monograph, this works to her advantage and allows her to connect the dots and effortlessly move from one idea to another. When, however, she discusses the symbolic meaning of John Vanderlyn's 1804 paining, The Death of Jane McCrea, which may not have been at the brothel, Cohen drifts into interesting, but unnecessary, commentary that derails the narrative. With this exception, The Murder of Helen Jewett is an excellent look at the changes during the Jacksonian era and the moral reform movement. Not a light read, but a mighty interesting one. Patricia Cline writes a scholarly, (perhaps overly?) researched historical non-fiction into the life of Helen Jewett, a prostitute in the bawdy 1830's in New York City. This tale introduces the full range of life of the newly growing NYC, complete with fascinating, throroughly researched footnotes into every detail of life of that time. Interesting to contrast what was happening "across the pond" at a similar time as Jack the Ripper in London and how things were handled differently. Dense, but as I was just in the area in Manhattan, I found it complelling and well worth the effort to dig through this book. inga recensioner | lägg till en recension
Priser
In 1836, the murder of a young prostitute made headlines in New York City and around the country, inaugurating a sex-and-death sensationalism in news reporting that haunts us today. Patricia Cline Cohen goes behind these first lurid accounts to reconstruct the story of the mysterious victim, Helen Jewett. From her beginnings as a servant girl in Maine, Helen Jewett refashioned herself, using four successive aliases, into a highly paid courtesan. She invented life stories for herself that helped her build a sympathetic clientele among New York City's elite, and she further captivated her customers through her seductive letters, which mixed elements of traditional feminine demureness with sexual boldness. But she was to meet her match--and her nemesis--in a youth called Richard Robinson. He was one of an unprecedented number of young men who flooded into America's burgeoning cities in the 1830s to satisfy the new business society's seemingly infinite need for clerks. The son of an established Connecticut family, he was intense, arrogant, and given to posturing. He became Helen Jewett's lover in a tempestuous affair and ten months later was arrested for her murder. He stood trial in a five-day courtroom drama that ended with his acquittal amid the cheers of hundreds of fellow clerks and other spectators. With no conviction for murder, nor closure of any sort, the case continued to tantalize the public, even though Richard Robinson disappeared from view. Through the Erie Canal, down the Ohio and the Mississippi, and by way of New Orleans, he reached the wilds of Texas and a new life under a new name. Through her meticulous and ingenious research, Patricia Cline Cohen traces his life there and the many twists and turns of the lingering mystery of the murder. Her stunning portrayals of Helen Jewett, Robinson, and their raffish, colorful nineteenth-century world make vivid a frenetic city life and sexual morality whose complexities, contradictions, and concerns resonate with those of our own time. Inga biblioteksbeskrivningar kunde hittas. |
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Google Books — Laddar... GenrerMelvil Decimal System (DDC)973History and Geography North America United StatesKlassifikation enligt LCBetygMedelbetyg:
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Although the book is long and very detailed, it held my attention completely. ( )