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The Resource The Devil's gentleman : privilege, poison, and the trial that ushered in the twentieth century, Harold Schechter

The Devil's gentleman : privilege, poison, and the trial that ushered in the twentieth century, Harold Schechter

Creator
Summary
From renowned true-crime historian Harold Schechter, whom The Boston Book Review hails as "America's principal chronicler of its greatest psychopathic killers," comes the riveting exploration of a notorious, sensational New York City murder in the 1890s, the fascinating forensic science of an earlier age, and the explosively dramatic trial that became a tabloid sensation at the turn of the century. Death was by poison and came in the mail: A package of Bromo Seltzer had been anonymously sent to Harry Cornish, the popular athletic director of Manhattan's elite Knickerbocker Athletic Club. Cornish barely survived swallowing a small dose; his cousin Mrs. Katherine Adams died in agony after ingesting the toxic brew. Scandal sheets owned by Hearst and Pulitzer eagerly jumped on this story of fatal high-society intrigue, speculating that the devious killer was a chemist, a woman, or "an effeminate man." Forensic studies suggested cyanide as the cause of death; handwriting on the deadly package and the vestige of a label glued to the bottle pointed to a handsome, athletic society scamp, Roland Molineux. The wayward son of a revered Civil War general, Molineux had clashed bitterly with Cornish before. He had even furiously denounced Cornish when penning his resignation from the Knickerbocker Club, a letter that later proved a major clue. Bon vivant Molineux had recently wed the sensuous Blanche Chesebrough, an opera singer whose former lover, Henry Barnet, had also recently died ... after taking medicine sent to him through the mail. Molineux's subsequent indictment for murder led to two explosive trials, a sex-infused scandal that shocked the nation, and a lurid print-media circus that ended in madness and a proud family's disgrace. In bold, brilliant strokes, Schechter captures all the colors of the tumultuous legal case, gathering his own evidence and tackling subjects no one dared address at the time'all in hopes of answering the tantalizing question: What powerfully dark motives could drive the wealthy scion of an eminent New York family to foul murder' Schechter vividly portrays the case's fascinating cast of characters, including Julian Hawthorne, son of Nathaniel Hawthorne, a prolific yellow journalist who covered the story, and proud General Edward Leslie Molineux, whose son's ignoble deeds besmirched a dignified national hero's final years. All the while Schechter brings alive Manhattan's Gilded Age: a gaslit world of elegant town houses and hidden bordellos, chic restaurants and shabby opium dens, a city peopled by men and women fighting and losing the battle against urges an upright era had ordered suppressed. Superbly researched and powerfully written, The Devil's Gentleman is an insightful, gripping work, a true-crime historian's crowning achievement. From the Hardcover edition
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
1st ed.
Extent
1 online resource (xv, 494 pages)
Contents
  • The soldier and the clubman
  • Blanche
  • Degenerate
  • Inquest
  • The people vs. Molineux
  • The man inside
  • Aftermath
Isbn
9780345509420
Link
http://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=285&titleID=160132
Instance
Label
The Devil's gentleman : privilege, poison, and the trial that ushered in the twentieth century
Title
The Devil's gentleman
Title remainder
privilege, poison, and the trial that ushered in the twentieth century
Statement of responsibility
Harold Schechter
Creator
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
From renowned true-crime historian Harold Schechter, whom The Boston Book Review hails as "America's principal chronicler of its greatest psychopathic killers," comes the riveting exploration of a notorious, sensational New York City murder in the 1890s, the fascinating forensic science of an earlier age, and the explosively dramatic trial that became a tabloid sensation at the turn of the century. Death was by poison and came in the mail: A package of Bromo Seltzer had been anonymously sent to Harry Cornish, the popular athletic director of Manhattan's elite Knickerbocker Athletic Club. Cornish barely survived swallowing a small dose; his cousin Mrs. Katherine Adams died in agony after ingesting the toxic brew. Scandal sheets owned by Hearst and Pulitzer eagerly jumped on this story of fatal high-society intrigue, speculating that the devious killer was a chemist, a woman, or "an effeminate man." Forensic studies suggested cyanide as the cause of death; handwriting on the deadly package and the vestige of a label glued to the bottle pointed to a handsome, athletic society scamp, Roland Molineux. The wayward son of a revered Civil War general, Molineux had clashed bitterly with Cornish before. He had even furiously denounced Cornish when penning his resignation from the Knickerbocker Club, a letter that later proved a major clue. Bon vivant Molineux had recently wed the sensuous Blanche Chesebrough, an opera singer whose former lover, Henry Barnet, had also recently died ... after taking medicine sent to him through the mail. Molineux's subsequent indictment for murder led to two explosive trials, a sex-infused scandal that shocked the nation, and a lurid print-media circus that ended in madness and a proud family's disgrace. In bold, brilliant strokes, Schechter captures all the colors of the tumultuous legal case, gathering his own evidence and tackling subjects no one dared address at the time'all in hopes of answering the tantalizing question: What powerfully dark motives could drive the wealthy scion of an eminent New York family to foul murder' Schechter vividly portrays the case's fascinating cast of characters, including Julian Hawthorne, son of Nathaniel Hawthorne, a prolific yellow journalist who covered the story, and proud General Edward Leslie Molineux, whose son's ignoble deeds besmirched a dignified national hero's final years. All the while Schechter brings alive Manhattan's Gilded Age: a gaslit world of elegant town houses and hidden bordellos, chic restaurants and shabby opium dens, a city peopled by men and women fighting and losing the battle against urges an upright era had ordered suppressed. Superbly researched and powerfully written, The Devil's Gentleman is an insightful, gripping work, a true-crime historian's crowning achievement. From the Hardcover edition
Cataloging source
TEFOD
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Schechter, Harold
Dewey number
364.152/3092
Illustrations
illustrations
Index
index present
LC call number
HV6534.N5
LC item number
S34 2007eb
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
  • dictionaries
  • bibliography
Series statement
Overdrive
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Molineux, Roland Burnham
  • Murder
  • United States
Label
The Devil's gentleman : privilege, poison, and the trial that ushered in the twentieth century, Harold Schechter
Link
http://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=285&titleID=160132
Instantiates
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 449-482) and index
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier.
Color
multicolored
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent.
Contents
The soldier and the clubman -- Blanche -- Degenerate -- Inquest -- The people vs. Molineux -- The man inside -- Aftermath
Control code
ocn431337477
Dimensions
unknown
Edition
1st ed.
Extent
1 online resource (xv, 494 pages)
Form of item
online
Isbn
9780345509420
Media category
computer
Media MARC source
rdamedia.
Media type code
  • c
Other physical details
illustrations.
Publisher number
EB00151438
Specific material designation
remote
Stock number
7A026CA3-4C1D-49FE-B2DC-CE6170D90B10
System control number
(OCoLC)431337477
Label
The Devil's gentleman : privilege, poison, and the trial that ushered in the twentieth century, Harold Schechter
Link
http://link.overdrive.com/?websiteID=285&titleID=160132
Publication
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 449-482) and index
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier.
Color
multicolored
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent.
Contents
The soldier and the clubman -- Blanche -- Degenerate -- Inquest -- The people vs. Molineux -- The man inside -- Aftermath
Control code
ocn431337477
Dimensions
unknown
Edition
1st ed.
Extent
1 online resource (xv, 494 pages)
Form of item
online
Isbn
9780345509420
Media category
computer
Media MARC source
rdamedia.
Media type code
  • c
Other physical details
illustrations.
Publisher number
EB00151438
Specific material designation
remote
Stock number
7A026CA3-4C1D-49FE-B2DC-CE6170D90B10
System control number
(OCoLC)431337477

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