Customer Reviews

Arsenic Under the Elms : Murder in Victorian New Haven

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book on a Saturday and once I started I couldn't put it down. Ms. McConnell writes about two obscure murders in Victorian Connecticut in a style that compels the reader to keep turning the pages. Learning about the mores and workings of the criminal justice system during this period was fascinating! I highly recommend it!

"Arsenic Under the Elms" is thoroughly an intriguing, mind challenging read. I felt Virginia A. McConnell did a wonderful job presenting the known facts, as well as including her speculations, but leaving the final verdict up to the reader. The explanations of the era and how they dealt with these sorts of crimes, as well as how they dealt with it legally and medically were very educational and thought provoking. I'm sure many criminalists, physiologists, lawyers, judges, and crime scene analysts, would have a field day solving these crimes. If only they had the technology of today, back then. Even if your genre is not "true crime," this book is a great read. I recommend.

To anyone who reads this book, keep in mind that there is a lot of speculation here based on some fact and some fiction and a lot of things are left unpursued. (I am referring specifically to the Mary Stannard case.) The author says herself she had no way of telling which witnesses were telling the truth in the Mary Stannard case. It is unfair to those connected to the families in the Stannard case, even distanced by 121 years, to rehash this and conclude as she does. This case was never solved and never will be. But then again, if Reverend Hayden didn't do it, this story would not sell. She virtually dismisses the unpursued second suspect despite the fact that he obviously perjured himself many times on the stand. She does not explore beyond the suspected reasons why the second unpursued suspect may have done it. Her analysis is based second guessing logical human behavior. Living in Rockland in the 19th century was not about logical behavior. Otherwise an interesting read.

I bought this book because Dr. Courtlandt Van Rensselaer Creed is my great great grandfather and was involved with the Jennie Cramer case.

What I found was an astonishing view into Victorian life, I think what I found most interesting was how crimes were investigated and trials conducted back then, this is much more than the story of two murders.

this was a great book! I loved the comparison of how the world & justice worked in the time setting of the 2 stories versus how we have it now. I am fasinated by the victorian era & true crime. This book blended both into a very ingrossing experience. I can't wait to read her 2nd book "Sympathy for the Devil:the Emmanuel Baptist Murders." and hope there will be more after that!

The author's enthusiasm for these compelling stories is apparent in her research and writing. She brings to life two still-shocking crimes with a refreshing lack of sensationalism. However, the writing itself rarely rises above the level of a bright college sophomore's term paper. In spots, the editing is poor, for example, the author will reference facts that hadn't been presented yet by that point in the book. Too much attempt is made to judge by modern mores and motives, sometimes implicitly and sometimes explicitly (repeated comparisons to the OJ Simpson trial, for example)...further research into social history of the time would have improved the book. It's often not entirely clear what facts are documented (or how) and what is speculation, even with reference to the copious footnotes. Worth a read, but look for it at the library.

First of all, Virginia McConnell is a great writer I find her to be very straight to the point. I have met this wonderful lady! and it was a pleasure to do so. She has this amazing talent that I do not find anywhere else, I am hoping that she will write another book and maybe become one of the top selling authors of this century!- maybe Ginny's first book will become a movie? you never know?.

This book is excellent and Ginny has made it seem like these crimes happened in our times. She has made the characters real and relevant to today. We feel like we could meet these people on the street today. She writes in a fresh and modern way. Great Job, Ginny, and we are eagerly awaiting your next offering! Sherry

Arsenic Under the Elms presents two separate murder cases from long ago, whose results may be questionable. The author introduces the victims, two innocent young women, to you first, so that you get a feel for their character and lives. Then she leads you through the crime, introducing compelling evidence from the time, and the evidence that may have been helpful if today's forensics had been available.

McConnell draws you into the time and place and circumstances so well that you feel you should be able to give testamony yourself! Also, you cannot help from forming your own questions, so that maybe you should be allowed to cross-examine the witnesses, too.

Although these are not considered cold cases, I enjoyed the challenge of figuring them out, in the same way I have enjoyed television shows about unsolved cases.

McConnell specializes in these type of true crime cases from the past and I am looking forward to her newest book which is to come out very soon!

This is a true crime book that gives details of two murders in the New Haven area in the 1890s. It's very factual and thoroughly researched, detailing the crimes and their subsequent trials. The differences between the 1890s and now are very interesting, including how crime scenes were treated, the technology available and the media. What's more interesting is that the more things change, the more they say the same. The book is very factual, and sometimes I think can be a bit dry, but because of its factual style, the author was able to include lots of details from courtroom transcripts and newspaper articles.