This compelling study of the American public's response to the fate of accused murderer Hattie Woolsteen uses this legal case to examine the complexities of gender history and societal fears about the changing roles of women during the Victorian era. In October of 1887, a young woman named Hattie Woolsteen was accused of murdering her married lover, Los Angeles dentist Charles Harlan. The subsequent trial captivated the public as few incidents had done before. The idea of a female murderer was particularly disturbing in 19th-century America, and the public quickly labeled her a fiend and a "she-devil." But despite the overwhelming evidence against the accused, Hattie Woolsteen was not only acquitted of the charge, but emerged as the victim in this sordid drama. As the public grappled with the details of Hattie's alleged crime, she became a symbol of female victimization and gender inequality—as well as an unlikely champion of women's rights. This book provides the fascinating and lurid details of the Hattie Woolsteen murder case within the context of 19th-century American social history, allowing readers to view this event in historical perspective. Its chapters examine the various factors that influenced public opinion about the case and its outcome, including Victorian attitudes about gender roles and women's place in American society as well as sexuality and crime, common concerns about the societal consequences of rapid urbanization, the power of the Victorian-era press in shaping public opinion, and the subjective nature of the criminal justice system in that time period.

Los Angeles, 1956. Glamorous. Prosperous. The place to see and be seen. But beneath the shiny exterior beats a dark heart. For when the sun goes down, L.A. becomes the noir city of James Ellroy's L.A. Confidential or Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins novels. Segregation is the unwritten law of the land. The growing black population is expected to keep to South Central. The white cops are encouraged to deal out harsh street justice. In L.A. '56, Joel Engel paints a tense, moody portrait of the city as a devil weaves his way through the shadows. While R&B and hot jazz spill out of record shops and clubs and all-night burger stands, Willie Fields cruises past in his dark green DeSoto, looking for a woman on whom he can bestow the gift of his company. His brilliant idea: Buy a tin badge in the five-and-ten to go along with his big flashlight and Luger and pretend to be an undercover vice cop. The young white girls doing it with their boyfriends in the lovers' lanes dotting the L.A. hills would never say no to a cop. Into the car they go for a ride downtown on a "morals charge," before he kicks out the young man in the middle of nowhere and takes the girl for a ride she'll spend a lifetime trying to forget. There's a bad guy on the loose in the City of Angels. Enter Detective Danny Galindo-he'd worked the Black Dahlia case back in '47 as a rookie. The suave Latino-one of the few in the department-is able to move easily among the white detectives. Maybe it's all those stories he's sold to Jack Webb for Dragnet. When Todd Roark, a black ex-cop, is arrested, Galindo knows he's innocent. But there's no sympathy for Roark among the white cops on the LAPD; Galindo will have to go it alone. There's only one problem: The victims aren't coming forward. The white press ignores the story, too, making Galindo's job that much more difficult. And now he's fallen in love with one of the rapist's first victims. If he's ever found out, he can kiss his badge good-bye. With his back up against a wall, Galindo realizes that it will take some good old-fashioned Hollywood magic to take down a devil in the City of Angels.

In 1970s Los Angeles, a lonely teenager named Kellie struggles with the temptations of alcohol, drugs, and the occult, until an older Christian friend introduces her to God.

The murder of a world-famous physicist raises fears that the Illuminati are operating again after centuries of silence, and religion professor Robert Langdon is called in to assist with the case.

A #1 New York Times Bestseller! "Funny, insightful, illuminating . . ." —The Boston Globe Twelve years ago, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil exploded into a monumental success, residing a record-breaking four years on the New York Times bestseller list (longer than any work of fiction or nonfiction had before) and turning John Berendt into a household name. The City of Falling Angels is Berendt's first book since Midnight, and it immediately reminds one what all the fuss was about. Turning to the magic, mystery, and decadence of Venice, Berendt gradually reveals the truth behind a sensational fire that in 1996 destroyed the historic Fenice opera house. Encountering a rich cast of characters, Berendt tells a tale full of atmosphere and surprise as the stories build, one after the other, ultimately coming together to portray a world as finely drawn as a still-life painting.

"In October of 1887, a young woman named Hattie Woolsteen was accused of murdering her married lover, Los Angeles dentist Charles Harlan. The subsequent trial captivated the public as few incidents had done before. The idea of a female murderer was particularly disturbing in 19th-century America, and the public quickly labeled her a fiend and a 'she-devil.' But despite the overwhelming evidence against the accused, Hattie Woolsteen was not only acquitted of the charge, but emerged as the victim in this sordid drama. As the public grappled with the details of Hattie's alleged crime, she became a symbol of female victimization and gender inequality--as well as an unlikely champion of women's rights. This book provides the fascinating and lurid details of the Hattie Woolsteen murder case within the context of 19th-century American social history, allowing readers to view this event in historical perspective. Its chapters examine the various factors that influenced public opinion about the case and its outcome, including Victorian attitudes about gender roles and women's place in American society as well as sexuality and crime, common concerns about the societal consequences of rapid urbanization, the power of the Victorian-era press in shaping public opinion, and the subjective nature of the criminal justice system in that time period"--Provided by publisher.

Illustration by a fellow prisoner. The text in this volume is based on the original translation from the French by Preston Rambo.