One of our favorite reads in recent months, The Devil's Gentleman: Privilege, Poison, and the Trial That Ushered in the Twentieth Century, by Harold Schechter, is the true crime story of a man named Roland Molineux.
Set at turn-of-the-century New York, it follows two poisonings, one fatal, that may have been committed by Molineux, a dashing, effete, athletic man. The trial gripped the city in ways that seem familiar to us now, but were novel at the time.
The book reads like page-turning fiction, while bringing a particular time and place vividly to life. Great stuff.
written on Tuesday Nov 27, 2007
and the poisoner was...
