Lost Love: A True Story of Passion, Murder, and Justice in Old New York [Paperback]

George Cooper (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 1995

Set in New York in the years after the Civil War, this gripping, poignant book is the story of a love affair that ended in one of the most sensational murder trials of the nineteenth century. It is the story of two lovers: Albert Richardson, a dashing jouralist, and Abby Sage, a beautiful actress who had fled an abusive marriage. In 1869, in the lobby of the New York Tribune, Abby's jealous ex-husband fatally shot Richardson. The ensuing trial spiraled into a furious debate on the sanctity of marriage and the rights of women.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Drawing on newspaper accounts, courtroom transcripts and correspondence, Cooper, a former law professor at Columbia University, has fashioned a moving and vivid account of a 19th-century New York City love story and murder. Physically abused for years by her alcoholic husband, Daniel McFarland, Abby Sage took their two children and left him in 1867. Supporting herself by acting, she fell in love with Albert Deane Richardson, a noted Civil War journalist, who asked her to marry him. After the divorce was granted, an enraged and jealous McFarland shot and killed Richardson in the lobby of the New York Tribune in 1869. Cooper posits that McFarland's subsequent acquittal--the jury determined that he was insane when he shot Richardson--was due to prevailing societal regard for the sanctity of marriage and hostility to the emerging women's rights movement. Abby pursued her acting and speaking career and died of pneumonia while traveling in Italy in 1900. Cooper's account is dramatic, evenhanded and, ultimately, an illuminating portrait of a strong and admirable woman. Photos.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"A piece of real Americana and thoroughly fascinating... I loved it." -- Marion Zimmer Bradley

"Cooper has done a superb job...a striking social history with the suspense, magnetism, and broad appeal of a novel." -- Booklist

"Cooper tells this story skillfully, weaving together courtroom testimony with press reports, letters and news dispatches. He keeps a quiet, consistent focus on the sad human drama at the heart of the scandal." -- The New York Times Book Review

"History at its best -- dramatic, riveting, and heart-rending." -- Doris Kearns Goodwin

"Lost Love is a true and fascinating story of a great Civil War romance. Smooth and clever in its weaving of the tale, it is scrupulous in attending to the truth." -- Judith Rossner

"vivid personalities become the basis of a near-operatic, true-life tale... handled with Victorian delicacy." -- The New York Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Vintage (January 31, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 067975699X
• ISBN-13: 978-0679756996
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,702,426 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shows how much things have and haven't changed, July 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Lost Love: A True Story of Passion, Murder, and Justice in Old New York (Paperback)

After the murder has been committed, the author spends time giving us the backgrounds of the three principle characters. Even if you aren't a history fan, don't skip these chapters because they'll help you understand the account of the actual trial. This is the story of a talented and intelligent woman who finds both the courage to leave and divorce her abusive alcoholic husband and to fall in love with a brave and decent man in spite of she went through. Then she loses her true love when her scum ex kills him. The chapters on the trial were difficult to endure because the defense team was so slick and the prosecution team was so lame. I was so angry with the prosecution team because they didn't even try to counter the defense team's "sanctity of marriage" ploy with the theme that no one on the jury would want to have his sister or daughter married to a drunken brute such as the defendant. Thank goodness the book tells us what happened to these people! ! after the trial, or it would be very depressing to read. I like the fact that the author gives us so many actual quotations from the original sources. I *really* hate books which are supposed to be factual accounts of true crimes but the authors include thoughts and dialog that are pure speculation because there is no reliable source for that information! Don't let the fact that this murder and trial happened over a hundred years ago stop you from reading it. Similar stories are happening today. Ann E. Nichols

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Totally Disappointed!, December 11, 2010

By 

Sylviastel - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Lost Love: A True Story of Passion, Murder, and Justice in Old New York (Paperback)

I have to say reading this book was disappointing to me. As much as I love true crime stories even over a hundred years old, the story and case around the crime of the century in Post-Civil war New York City with a journalist killed by his lover's husband was so disappointing.

The author encloses letters among the main characters involved in this bitter love triangle but without explanation or passion in explaining why we should read about this case.

The author also encloses newspaper article accounts from the time period. Again, there is a little explanation. I was truly dumbfounded that I just read the book anyway even though I didn't enjoy it. I felt that Abby Sage's horrible marriage and love affair went totally undefined by the author. There were bits and pieces about her abusive marriage to her husband but I never understood her or her husband or her lover.

I just felt that this book could have had so much to offer and fell too short.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating but flawed book, October 20, 2009

By 

Booklover "LA" (United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Lost Love: A True Story of Passion, Murder, and Justice in Old New York (Paperback)

Daniel McFarland murdered journalist Albert Richardson in 1869 in a fit of jealous rage. He blamed Richardson for the break-up his marriage and literally got away with murder because a jury found him not guilty.

This is a true case and one of the most fascinating true crime stories in American history. George Cooper had great material to work with. However, instead of 'writing' a book, he simply threw letters, legal documents, and newspaper articles at us.

The job of a writer is to take those materials, distill them, and write them up in an entertaining fashion. Lost Love is like looking through a researcher's file folders. It's still interesting, but it's not a book.