Scan barcode
A review by thatsoneforthebooks
Who Killed Jane Stanford?: A Gilded Age Tale of Murder, Deceit, Spirits and the Birth of a University by Richard White
✨ Review ✨ Who Killed Jane Stanford?: A Gilded Age Tale of Murder, Deceit, Spirits and the Birth of a University by Richard White; Narrated by Christopher P. Brown
I don't listen to / read a lot of true crime, but I was excited to find this one written by Richard White, a historian that always produces interesting explorations of the past. I was also hooked by my interest in the Bay Area, even if the Gilded Age isn't really my favorite time period.
I really enjoyed listening to this book. White framed the story with the murder of Jane Stanford, and along the way provided deep contextualization of Stanford - the woman, the family, and the university. As he explored the history of her life, her death, and the investigations after her death, he revealed layers of scandal, Gilded Age corruption, racial and socioeconomic inequities, and so much more.
I really appreciated how he "broke the fourth wall," and provided glimpses into the challenges of doing this research with sources that had gone missing (maliciously or likely some due to the 1906 earthquake), as well as the ways the sources frequently contradict each other. I enjoyed these reflections into the practice of this writing, and the differences between historians and detectives in the way they approach cases like these.
It's a book that true crime lovers who also enjoy history would like reading, though it's not as flashy as some more modern true crime where all of the answers come together neatly. I learned a lot about Stanford, but also about the Bay Area in the Gilded Age.
Thanks to W. W. Norton & Company, Tantor Audio, and #netgalley for advanced copies of this book!
I don't listen to / read a lot of true crime, but I was excited to find this one written by Richard White, a historian that always produces interesting explorations of the past. I was also hooked by my interest in the Bay Area, even if the Gilded Age isn't really my favorite time period.
I really enjoyed listening to this book. White framed the story with the murder of Jane Stanford, and along the way provided deep contextualization of Stanford - the woman, the family, and the university. As he explored the history of her life, her death, and the investigations after her death, he revealed layers of scandal, Gilded Age corruption, racial and socioeconomic inequities, and so much more.
I really appreciated how he "broke the fourth wall," and provided glimpses into the challenges of doing this research with sources that had gone missing (maliciously or likely some due to the 1906 earthquake), as well as the ways the sources frequently contradict each other. I enjoyed these reflections into the practice of this writing, and the differences between historians and detectives in the way they approach cases like these.
It's a book that true crime lovers who also enjoy history would like reading, though it's not as flashy as some more modern true crime where all of the answers come together neatly. I learned a lot about Stanford, but also about the Bay Area in the Gilded Age.
Thanks to W. W. Norton & Company, Tantor Audio, and #netgalley for advanced copies of this book!