Customer Reviews

31 Bond Street

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

That is not my quote, but rather one by Beverly Swerling on the back cover of Ellen Horan's marvelous novel, "31 Bond Street".

Horan's novel is a remarkable combination of history and crime, centering on the real life murder of Dr Harvey Burdell, in New York City in 1857. Dr Burdell, a dentist and businessman, was smitten - to some degree, at least - with Emma Cunningham, a widow with two teenage daughters. The story of the grim murder by person or persons unknown was brought to life daily with lurid details in the tabloids of the time. Mrs Cunningham was arrested and brought to trial for Burdell's brutal murder in his own home.

Horan's story - she takes the four or five main characters in the real murder and subsequent trial and gives them all a back story and blends them together to come up with what might have happened in January, 1857. What was true and what was fictional come together in a beautifully written saga by Horan that never failed to hold my attention. She is quite well versed in the New York City politics and the national politics of 1857, both of which contribute to her story.

One of the historical tidbits I picked up from the story was the origin of the New York Times' claim to be "The Paper of Record". I had always just assumed it was an advertising boast, but evidently, in the 1800's, the New York Times actually sent court reporters to trials and hearings and wrote the official trial transcripts. Hence, "The Paper of Record"

Horan's novel is quite a read.

bought this book yesterday and simply could not put it down until I finished... a compelling story and well-told tale with impeccable historic detail and extensive research..loved it and can't wait to get to the city to walk down Bond Street today just to imagine what it was like then. Don't miss this must read!

While it is very hard to come up with a genre for this book, it is none-the-less an enjoyable read. It follows the mysterious death of Dr. Harvey Burdell (a dentist by trade, but a man of seriously questionable morals), presumed by the law, the media, and the population at large to have been committed by Emma Cunningham (Burdell's mistress? wife? housekeeper?). The background storyline is based on the facts of a true, unsolved murder in 1857, which Ellen Horan has fictionalized with a possible explanation, carefully hinted at throughout the book, but hidden until the end.

While a finely crafted "whodunit?", 31 Bond Street's greater allure is the social fabric on which is it written. Each character helps paint a picture of society in the era. The rich doctor who steals but is above the law; the poor widow who will sacrifice anything for her children's future; the black groom who has fleed slavery but knows he is still not safe in the North; the poor boy who has to work to support his family; the Southern gentlemen intent on preventing the North from changing their way of life; the daughter pushed into the arms of a man she doesn't love to meet her mother's idea of propriety; the lawyer who fights for the rights of the unjustly accused. All these fine characters make it very easy for the reader to place himself inside storyline and thereby learn more about the societal norms of the period.

Four stars out of five: Would like to have seen a little more historical background to balance out the fiction (à la "Devil in the White City"), but still a very good read.

This enjoyable book is a little difficult to categorize. It is a historical novel but it is more about the murder and trial than about the period. It is a courtroom drama but in a legal system without the familiar rights and processes we see in modern legal thrillers. One of the jacket blurbs likened it to a combination of Caleb Carr and Scott Turow, which I think fits for the subject matter. (I don't think it is as good as The Alienist: A Novel.) I love legal mysteries and quite enjoyed the historical nature of the book. That it was set in one of my favorite cities, New York City, added to the enjoyment.

The story is based on an actual murder case from 1857 and several of the characters are based on the actual people involved in that case. The main characters are the suspect Emma Cunningham (a widow with two daughters and the "wife" of the victim), Henry Clinton her attorney and Dr. Burdell the victim. Important secondary characters are Emma's teenage daughters Augusta and Helen, Samuel (Burdell's driver), John (a young boy who does errands for Burdell), and Ambrose Wicken (a Southern gentleman who Emma wants as a suitor for Augusta).

The story starts with the discovery of the body and Clinton's early involvement in the case and the moves back to the beginning of the relationship between Dr. Burdell and Emma. The story continues by alternating chapters on the murder investigation and trial with chapters covering the lives and activities of the victim and suspect before the murder. Unlike modern legal thrillers, Clinton does not go looking for the real killer; his focus is on using evidence to prove that it is someone other than Emma. Also, this book is much more centered on the people involved than on the trial itself. As the book progresses, the reader will see a lot of motives for killing Dr. Burdell and wonder whether or not Emma is the killer or if Clinton will be able win her acquittal either way. Many parts of the ending came as a surprise to me.

Because of the focus of the book on Emma, I think women may enjoy this more than men, but I recommend it to anyone who enjoys either historical novels or legal novels. I think it would also be a good book for book clubs because there is plenty to discuss in it.

Ellen Horan's first novel is based on what was considered to be one of the most famous murder trials in pre-Civil War New York City. Without going into detail, the plot involves the brutal murder of a prominent dentist found dead in his town house at 31 Bond Street in lower Manhattan. All the evidence points toward the murderer being his lodger and housekeeper, Emma Cunningham. At the backdrop of the investigation and trial that ensues is the rich historical perspective of 1857 New York, including the weaving in of interesting information about the sensationalist press, the booming real estate market, corruption, rampant vice, racial conflict and the inequality between men and women. For me, this historical perspective was more interesting than Horan's handling of the plot itself, which was entertaining but not great. While I wasn't disappointed in any way in Horan's first book, I would have given it a higher rating if she: (1) created a stronger sense of tension throughout the murder investigation and subsequent trial, given it was considered to be one of NYC's most notorious crimes; and (2) if she provided more depth to her characters' physical attributes and psychological motivations, which would have helped me to feel I knew them better. Overall, 31 Bond Street is an entertaining read, but it is not a book that you need rush out to buy.

I just finished this book, and really enjoyed it. Horan's writing style is so easy to read -- I breezed right through. I love how she created the characters, and her version of what might have happened. I also like how, at the end, she tells the facts she actually did know and what was made up; the lack of that information is why I generally don't like historical fiction. It did not feel at all like a first novel.

I know you've heard it before, but this is a real page turner. It is a fictionalized account of a truly brutal murder that made headlines for more than three months in New York during 1857. In this pre-Civil War era, there was already plenty of intrigue concerning the gross treatment of women, the working class, and free blacks and runaway slaves. All of which made up a substantial part of the population of New York. To say that corruption in the local government was running rampant would be an understatement. Drop into this simmering pot a savage murder of a seemingly respectable dentist in his locked house; swindled business partners; alienated relatives; a sexy widow, who was his housekeeper and possible lover; politicians with their own agendas; a missing black man who was the victim's coachman, and you have a great story.
The author skillfully leads the reader through a did she or didn't she kill her lover scenario. The preparations for the trial of the mistress and its subsequent revelations are counter played against glimpses of the events that lead up to the murder which took place at 31 Bond Street. Although Mrs Cunningham is the prosecution's focus for the crime, there is certainly no lack of alternate suspects. A very skillfully executed historical murder mystery.

In her first novel, Ellen Horan, takes a real murder mystery and spins her own fiction around the characters involved in the case.

The author moves the reader back and forth in time revealing the history of the relationship between the victim, Dr. Harvey Burdell, and his accused murderer, Emma Cunningham, at the same time she's revealing the aftermath of the murder. She goes on to describe the murder without revealing who committed the act, which I thought was very clever.

I liked the characters Horan created and the relationships between the male characters, Samuel, Dr Burdell's driver, the errand-boy John and Katuma, Samuel's Native American friend.

I thought the story took a while to gain momentum and build tension. It was interesting but I think it would have been even more interesting if the author had explored the main characters in greater depth. Both characters are complex and calculating but the reader isn't shown much detail about either one's past. I think showing their personal motivations would have helped build the tension in the story and flesh out their characters at the same time.

I enjoyed the interesting bits of historical information that the author wove throughout the story, particularly about the Underground Railroad and the transporting of freed blacks and selling them as slaves. As well as the information about the community of Sandy Ground on Staten Island founded by freed black men.

Honestly there is a lot to like here and I did enjoy this book it just didn't resonate with me for whatever reason. I wish that the author had focused more on Emma and Dr. Burdell's personal lives as well as the friendship between John, Samuel and Katuma. Overall an interesting book that many readers will enjoy.

Ellen Horan's 31 BOND STREET is a well researched work of historical fiction that takes the reader back in time to an era when a man's character and status were determined by the height of his hat. In the case of suspicious death grand juries were convened in the home of the victim and autopsies were performed on the premises while witnesses and potential suspects were sequestered in the home awaiting questioning without benefit of counsel. Additionally, the press were invited into the victims' home and allowed to report every gory detail and bit of innuendo uttered during the grand jury proceedings on the front pages of their respective newspapers. (Sort of eliminated the chances of a "fair and impartial jury of your peers").

In lower Manhattan circa 1857 the murder of Dr. Harvey Burdell provided the basis for a media circus when Emma Cunningham a young widow who, along with her two daughters, lived on the upper floors of the doctor's home was charged with his murder. More than that I will not divulge lest is compromise your pleasure in reading this book. Suffice so say that the story on which the book is based has been diligently researched via newspaper articles, trial transcripts and other items of public record and integrated with the author's vivid imagination to present the reader with a fascinating fusion of fact and fiction. Ms. Horan even includes a section in her author's note that reveals what happened to the chief characters in this drama after the resolution of the case.

Visualize, if you will, an amalgamation of the flavors of Upstairs, Downstairs, The Devil in White City, and the writings of Caleb Carr with the courtroom drama of John Grisham and you will have a small idea of the reading pleasure 31 BOND STREET holds in store.

A totally absorbing blend of fact and fiction is found in Ellen Horan's stellar debut 31 BOND STREET. Basing her story on what the 19th century called the crime of the century Horan competently moves between past and present to draw deft pictures of the individuals involved in a trial that held not only New York City but the entire world in thrall.

It was February of 1857 that brought "the worst, the very worst, wintry gale ever experienced in the city..." It was also when a young hired boy found the body of Dr. Harvey Burdell. The doctor's throat had been so viciously slashed that his head was almost severed from his body.

In that day and time it was not uncommon for a bachelor such as Dr. Burdell to lease the upper part of his commodious townhouse to a widow who would see to the management of the house and servants. In this case Dr. Burdell had chosen Emma Cunningham, a comely woman of 36 with teenage daughters, Helen and Augusta. But more than leasing a portion of the home Emma evidently believed she would receive Burdell's marriage proposal.

After Dr. Burdell's killing Emma becomes the prime suspect and embarks on a struggle to save her very life with the assistance of attorney, Henry Clinton. With judicious use of historical records Horan brings the ensuing trial to compelling life. She also reminds us of the figures and elements affecting so many at that time - Tammany Hall, widespread corruption, the Fugitive Slave Acts. Horan's narrative is so skillful that it's as if curtains had been drawn and we see Manhattan in 1857, and are witnesses to the events of that time.

- Gail Cooke