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jobustitch's review against another edition
5.0
This book has haunted me ever since I read it about nine years ago. The story is unbelievable and the writing is excellent.
emilybryk's review against another edition
1.0
I think I have never before read a book and thought "whoooooooeee, this could use some serious editing." The story of Helen Jewett's actual murder is fascinating and bizarre, no doubt. There's all sorts of stuff going on here that is all sorts of fascinating. We've got prostitution, cover-ups (maybe), small-town girls going off to the big city, all that.
And it's really, really meticulously researched -- heavily footnoted, tons of minor stuff sourced back to letters, you name it.
And yet.
First, it may be almost TOO researched -- sure, it's great that Ms. Cohen found out about Helen Jewett's family going back 3, 4, 5 generations. But we don't need to see entire sections devoted to whether her great-grandfather could pay his debts, and when we're confronted with sections about how her family had *always* been poor and shiftless, well, it's either irrelevant (which is IS), or it's easy to get the sense that Ms. Cohen is indicating that Ms. Jewett deserved no better/no more than a life of prostitution (Note: I don't think she actually thought that. But it was weird.)
Second, we see certain of Helen and Richard's letters reprinted in full two, three, four times throughout the book. There is no reason.
Third, the order in which information is presented is sometimes confusing. When we learn that a scandalous newspaper article referenced a H***** B***** with a carefully chosen number of asterisks replacing letters, and about how shocked a huge number of people were by it, why do we then wait more than 100 pages to learn who Horace Bridge WAS and why it was a scandal? It was just poorly organized.
And it's really, really meticulously researched -- heavily footnoted, tons of minor stuff sourced back to letters, you name it.
And yet.
First, it may be almost TOO researched -- sure, it's great that Ms. Cohen found out about Helen Jewett's family going back 3, 4, 5 generations. But we don't need to see entire sections devoted to whether her great-grandfather could pay his debts, and when we're confronted with sections about how her family had *always* been poor and shiftless, well, it's either irrelevant (which is IS), or it's easy to get the sense that Ms. Cohen is indicating that Ms. Jewett deserved no better/no more than a life of prostitution (Note: I don't think she actually thought that. But it was weird.)
Second, we see certain of Helen and Richard's letters reprinted in full two, three, four times throughout the book. There is no reason.
Third, the order in which information is presented is sometimes confusing. When we learn that a scandalous newspaper article referenced a H***** B***** with a carefully chosen number of asterisks replacing letters, and about how shocked a huge number of people were by it, why do we then wait more than 100 pages to learn who Horace Bridge WAS and why it was a scandal? It was just poorly organized.
wayfaring_witch's review against another edition
3.0
When I first started this book I couldn't put it down. It opened up with Helen's murder and then started opening up 19th century New York and Helen (born Dorcas Doyen)'s life. I could just feel the author digging around in archives to get to understand Helen (and her murderer's life).
I wanted to give this book four stars. I really did. But about 2/3 of the way in it was starting to repeat itself too much and its tangents were no longer relevant. I think I started losing my enthusiasm when there was a chapter that talked about books that Helen maybe possibly could have read. Overall great and well written, but it should have been cut about 100 pages.
Still, I will recommend it to people who take an interest in it.
I wanted to give this book four stars. I really did. But about 2/3 of the way in it was starting to repeat itself too much and its tangents were no longer relevant. I think I started losing my enthusiasm when there was a chapter that talked about books that Helen maybe possibly could have read. Overall great and well written, but it should have been cut about 100 pages.
Still, I will recommend it to people who take an interest in it.
real_life_reading's review against another edition
1.0
I gave up on this book. The writing is very poorly done. She goes back and forth with the dates of the story, which is really confusing. I thought it was going to be more about the murder case itself, and how it had an impact on mid-nineteenth century New York City; instead, the book is mainly about building up the character of the prostitute Helen Jewett, who she was as a child in Maine, how she came to be a prostitute in New York City, and her love affairs leading up to her murder. When I stopped reading it, Cohen was hashing through Jewett's love letters from clients, which to me didn't have much to do with the murder at all. I was just very disappointed in the whole thing.
lawyergobblesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Patricia Cline Cohen is a good writer, in the sense that she displays mastery of the language (a rich vocabulary and the like). But she's not a good editor. The subject matter here is terribly interesting - from the story of the murder itself to the time in which it took place. Cohen delves into the cultural elements of 1830s New York and the back stories of the main characters. Of course it's a good instinct to provide context to a murder trial, especially one that took place so long ago. She simply gives the context too much airtime and consequently loses momentum.
This is a great story and a fascinating piece of history of my adopted hometown, and I finished it for those reasons. I skimmed a lot of source material - Cohen has seemingly reprinted every relevant letter, diary entry, and newspaper item bearing some relevance to the case. Those who want to read this book for what it's about - and in the end, it was worth it to know what happened - should realize it's a history book, not a novelized treatment so common in the genre of true crime. Two stars for the misleading title/packaging and the lack of a good editor.
This is a great story and a fascinating piece of history of my adopted hometown, and I finished it for those reasons. I skimmed a lot of source material - Cohen has seemingly reprinted every relevant letter, diary entry, and newspaper item bearing some relevance to the case. Those who want to read this book for what it's about - and in the end, it was worth it to know what happened - should realize it's a history book, not a novelized treatment so common in the genre of true crime. Two stars for the misleading title/packaging and the lack of a good editor.
prof_pelon's review against another edition
5.0
Brain Food: Steak and Potatoes
Scandal Level: Historial discussion of prostitution
Violence: Descriptions of 19th century murder scene
Must be ___ old to read: 14
Read if you liked: The Devil in the White City or The Great Train Robbery
Re-readability: Worth reading a Second time
Thoughts: I was assigned this book in my History 601 class and absolutely loved it. Historical true crime does an amazing job at crossing the divide between pop and academic histories. Cohen tell an facinating story of a murder trial, while adhering to high levels of research and writing standards. Cohen's discussion of the newspaper of the day is especially fascinating. Worth the read for scholars and homegrown history buffs alike.
Scandal Level: Historial discussion of prostitution
Violence: Descriptions of 19th century murder scene
Must be ___ old to read: 14
Read if you liked: The Devil in the White City or The Great Train Robbery
Re-readability: Worth reading a Second time
Thoughts: I was assigned this book in my History 601 class and absolutely loved it. Historical true crime does an amazing job at crossing the divide between pop and academic histories. Cohen tell an facinating story of a murder trial, while adhering to high levels of research and writing standards. Cohen's discussion of the newspaper of the day is especially fascinating. Worth the read for scholars and homegrown history buffs alike.
gundechelsea's review against another edition
2.0
This is the first true crime book I've read that has made murder horrifically boring. Explaining the history of the victim's great grandparents hardly seems relevant. It was a total yawn-fest.
mythicalbrit's review against another edition
4.0
Intriguing exploration of the murder of a high-class 19th century New York City prostitute. Cohen vividly re-creates the seedy underworld of Victorian New York, represented by the mysteriously shady Helen Jewett. It reads like a novel, which I love in a popular history.
erleabee's review against another edition
4.75
Very thoroughly researched and well presented. A fascinating look at a social event of 1836.
kikiandarrowsfishshelf's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes a good cast isn’t enough to get me to continue to watch a show. Copper was such a show. I tried. I really did. I tried again when I heard that new actors were being added to the second season. I mean, Alfre Woodard. But no, couldn’t get into it. I was always left with a feeling that the show, if not the staff, really didn’t like women. Granted, it took place in Five Corners during the Civil War, but in terms of female characters you had the evil whore (she killed one of her girls out of jealously), the spy (the upper class woman who becomes addicted to opium as well), the vamp (the child prostitute), the one who killed her daughter (it is a long story, and it was accident), and the other one with mental issues (who say her brothers killed, and this character actually got much better in the second season).
It seems, after reading this book, Copper was far more accurate than it intended to be. Helen Jewett was a whore. She lived and worked in a brothel. She was not a street walker, but it she was whore. A nice and educated whore, who sold more than just intercourse, but the whole idea of a relationship.
One of her clients killed her and got away with it because she was a whore.
Cline looks at Jewett’s past, as much as she possibly could, as well as the factors that went into working as a whore at that time as well as how society would have viewed such women. Additionally, there is a look at how the newspapers reported the killing.
What’s the saying? The more things change, the more they stay the same.
It ties into Copper, even though there is at least 30 years difference because of the portrayal and buddy system between the cops and whores in that series. In fact, you could also go argue that Copper showcased the male privilege that allowed for such an environment – for instance, get rid of that wife who accidently killed her daughter and then two male heroes can be buddies again.
Okay, maybe not that bit because sharing women, at least those who sold favors, was one of the ways that men seemed to bond. Homoerotic doesn’t begin to describe it.
An interesting look at a criminal case that still is, sadly, relevant today.
It seems, after reading this book, Copper was far more accurate than it intended to be. Helen Jewett was a whore. She lived and worked in a brothel. She was not a street walker, but it she was whore. A nice and educated whore, who sold more than just intercourse, but the whole idea of a relationship.
One of her clients killed her and got away with it because she was a whore.
Cline looks at Jewett’s past, as much as she possibly could, as well as the factors that went into working as a whore at that time as well as how society would have viewed such women. Additionally, there is a look at how the newspapers reported the killing.
What’s the saying? The more things change, the more they stay the same.
It ties into Copper, even though there is at least 30 years difference because of the portrayal and buddy system between the cops and whores in that series. In fact, you could also go argue that Copper showcased the male privilege that allowed for such an environment – for instance, get rid of that wife who accidently killed her daughter and then two male heroes can be buddies again.
Okay, maybe not that bit because sharing women, at least those who sold favors, was one of the ways that men seemed to bond. Homoerotic doesn’t begin to describe it.
An interesting look at a criminal case that still is, sadly, relevant today.