The Devil's Gentleman: Privilege, Poison, and the Trial That Ushered in the Twentieth Century

ISBN: 0345476808

Author: Schechter, Harold

Condition: New

From renowned true-crime historian Harold Schechter comes the riveting exploration of a notorious New York City murder in the 1890s, the fascinating forensic science of an earlier time, and the grisly court case that became a tabloid spectacle.The wayward son of a revered Civil War general, Roland Molineux enjoyed good looks, status, and fortune-hardly the qualities of a prime suspect in a series of shocking, merciless cyanide killings. Molineuxs subsequent indictment for murder led to two explosive trials and a sex-infused scandal that shocked the nation. Bringing to life Manhattans Gilded Age, Schechter captures all the colors of the tumultuous legal proceedings, gathering his own evidence and tackling subjects no one dared address at the time-all in hopes of answering a tantalizing question: What powerfully dark motives could drive the wealthy scion of an eminent New York family to murder?Praise for The Devil's Gentleman:A heady tale of sin, sex, jealousy and revenge in sepia-toned Manhattan.-The New York TimesA dark chronicle of ghoulish revenge [and] journalistic sensationalism . . . [a] well-wrought anatomy of a murder and portrait of an age.-The Wall Street JournalSchechter peppers his account of one of Americas earliest media circuses with peacock characters and deliciously tawdry details. . . . For scandal sweet tooths, this ones a beaut.-Entertainment WeeklyIn the hands of an artist and historian as gifted as Schechter, the material becomes a superbly evocative reconstruction of the fascinating period in American life that gave birth to our media-crazed society.-Bomb magazineWell told and powerfully written . . . Through newspaper accounts of the day and memoirs of the principals . . . Schechter brings [a crime] to vivid life.-San Antonio Express-News