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A review by selenajournal
Fatal: The Poisonous Life of a Female Serial Killer by Harold Schechter
5.0
It isn't always men who are savage enough to kill without rhyme or reason. There is always your Elizabeth Bathory, Lucrezia Borgia, Lydia Sherman, Sarah Jane Robinson, Aileen Wournos... and of course, Jolly Jane Toppan.
Schecter begins the book with Aileen Wournos, an underappreciated woman I think, who killed her seven victims because they allegedly tried to rape her/assault her while she was working as a prostitute. Next to Jane Toppan, however, Aileen Wournos is a tame kitty-cat.
Jane Toppan was brought into the world as Honora Kelley but was indentured to and adopted by the Toppan family, consisting of Mrs. Ann Toppan and her lovely daughter Elizabeth. As far as we know, they treated her well, but her role in the family was that of a slave.
Jane attended nursing school which was no small feat in that day and age. There was a rigorous training that we now might find unconstitutional. Despite all of the training and work, Jane found time to experiment on some of her patients and the morphia & atropine fun began.
Jolly Jane never graduated with any degree and instead of continuing with nursing she went into private home care. It was then that Jane really began having fun. The freedom of not being under anyone's watchful eye - the power of being the only care provider for your patient... well, let's just say she got a little excited. And when Jane get excited, many funerals are had. Still, it was years before Jane was ever suspected and brought to trial, leaving as many as one hundred alleged corpses in her path.
This book was wonderfully written. Schechter really researched the topic before embarking on the book. He referenced newspaper articles of the time as well as public records. My favorite part of this entire book is the intimacy of "watching" her kill her victims. There is a lot of information about just how she went about killing her patients and it was phrased beautifully.
So I guess there's a lesson to be learned.
Beware the next time you're handed medicine. "Drink it, it's good for you," may be the last words you hear.
(I'd give it an eight/ten)
Schecter begins the book with Aileen Wournos, an underappreciated woman I think, who killed her seven victims because they allegedly tried to rape her/assault her while she was working as a prostitute. Next to Jane Toppan, however, Aileen Wournos is a tame kitty-cat.
Jane Toppan was brought into the world as Honora Kelley but was indentured to and adopted by the Toppan family, consisting of Mrs. Ann Toppan and her lovely daughter Elizabeth. As far as we know, they treated her well, but her role in the family was that of a slave.
Jane attended nursing school which was no small feat in that day and age. There was a rigorous training that we now might find unconstitutional. Despite all of the training and work, Jane found time to experiment on some of her patients and the morphia & atropine fun began.
Jolly Jane never graduated with any degree and instead of continuing with nursing she went into private home care. It was then that Jane really began having fun. The freedom of not being under anyone's watchful eye - the power of being the only care provider for your patient... well, let's just say she got a little excited. And when Jane get excited, many funerals are had. Still, it was years before Jane was ever suspected and brought to trial, leaving as many as one hundred alleged corpses in her path.
This book was wonderfully written. Schechter really researched the topic before embarking on the book. He referenced newspaper articles of the time as well as public records. My favorite part of this entire book is the intimacy of "watching" her kill her victims. There is a lot of information about just how she went about killing her patients and it was phrased beautifully.
So I guess there's a lesson to be learned.
Beware the next time you're handed medicine. "Drink it, it's good for you," may be the last words you hear.
(I'd give it an eight/ten)