Customer Reviews

The Scarlet Mansion

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

 

 

I read this book when it first was published in 1985. Though many years have passed, my memory of the story remains vivid. I still wonder why historians do not mention this man more often when discussing serial murderers. Herman Mudget obviously was clever, as the reader soon learns, and no matter the number of people killed, he always should be mentioned in the same breath as Jack the Ripper and other well known serial murderers. Mr. Eckert has done outstanding research into the life of Herman Mudget, and his diabolical schemes to commit murder. Though serial murders are not to be praised in history, their exploits are part of history, and any study of them should be closely reviewed as a lesson from which we can learn, and Mr. Eckert's effort is among the best. Athough I still have my original copy, I am pleased to learn that this book is back in print so readers who have not yet had the opportunity to read this story now will be able to do so.

Herman W. Mudgett, better known as Harry H. Holmes, was a true American monster---swindler, thief, and serial killer. Nobody knows how many people he killed at his "Murder Mansion"---a house constructed specifically to make murder easier to get away with---in then-suburban Englewood, Illinois (now part of Chicago). He killed for pleasure, for insurance money, and to avoid paying people money he owed them.

Robert Bloch tried to do justice to Mudgett in _American Gothic,_ but this book is far closer to the known facts of the case, and I cannot understand why it isn't better-known. I'm delighted to see that it's finally back in print.

Excellent book. Read it over 10 yrs ago and lost my copy. Finally found it again on Amazon.com. What a facinating read.
This man was truely evil incarnate. From the first page it will keep you reading well into the night and early morning.

Allan Eckert is one of our great writers of historical fiction. His series about the Western movement is an education in itself and, although he does not use the footnotes here that he used to such good effect in that series, you somehow know that he has written this book with the same scrupulous attention to the facts.

And if you read any book about a serial killer, Herman Mudgett is the one to study. It is foolish to call him a capitalist, for the same reason it is foolish to refer to Bonnie and Clyde as "bankers" just because they robbed banks. But Mudgett was a man of property (albeit stolen) and roots and the number of crimes he pulled off is a real lesson in how primitive law enforcement was in the 19th Century. It relied on society to keep order and, when a man slipped the traces of civilized society, as Mudgett and his henchmen and henchwomen did, society was helpless. Eckert tells this story well.

Why only two stars then? Because Eckert tells the story TOO well. 500 pages with a serial killer is too much. The first two thirds of the book is the worst. Every character is either evil or naive and as you read through Eckert's recounting of Mudgetts various crimes, cons and seductions, you feel that you have entered an unpleasant world without any moral center.

When someone finally enters the book at page 350 or so who is both morally upright and intelligent, it is a breath of fresh air, like opening a window after breathing 300 plus pages of stale air.

Perhaps this is all a reason to read this book, but be forewarned.

In fairness, I have only begun the book and have reached Chapter Four. However, I have discovered several errors that the author (or his publisher) should have caught. First, Eckert lists a location as being "on the east side of 63rd Street". For any Chicagoan who knows his city (as I am and do), there is no east side of 63rd Street, as it runs east and west. Also, he lists Cicero as being part of the City of Chicago. It is not. It has always been (to my knowledge) a separate entity. I realize that these are small points, but for someone who supposedly researches his material, I find these mistakes baffling. All it takes is a map! Both my husband and I know Dr. Eckert personally and I would find it interesting to know what the author's explanation for these errors are.

As to the story itself, it is beyond creepy. I often drive past the site of the Holmes Castle at 63rd and Wallace--I have a friend who built two houses just north of there. The corner now holds a post office. And good thing, too! The story makes fascinating reading; all the more so because it is true. However, reader beware--there ARE errors, which a discerning reader may find causes him to question the truthfulness of the rest of the narrative. These points aside, I highly recommend the book for any fan of Chicago's history or for all you true crime buffs out there.

There are some very sick people in the world and Mudgett was the worst. This man gave me the creeps. What is really hard to beleive is that this is a true story. Mudgett was the fist Serial Killer and to this day they do not know how many people he killed. The story is written almost as a mystery but you are aware of what is to be found.

I guess I just didn't get this book. I know nothing about Herman Mudgett aside from this book, but its "True Crime" label doesn't seem to be accurate. According to Eckert's story, Mudgett was only tried for (and would not confess) to one murder, and he didn't tell ANYONE things he had done. That means the entire book is completely, totally, and utterly fabricated. Eckert simply made up elaborate stories about people who just happened to know Mudgett and disappeared. No proof. Nothing. Not even a questionable confession from Mudgett himself. To further this, in the author's note, Eckert writes, "...the people mentioned are, in large measure, real people who lived the roles in which they are depicted." 'In large measure' the people you've just read about are real.

Eckert writes pointless scenes i.e. telling what a victim does when alone *immediately* before dying, which I understand give the book a narrative flow, but they drag at times. Then there are some bizarre scenes that are something out of a romance novel. By this I mean parts where, for no reason, we go off on a tangent describing sex in depth. Step-by-step.

I definitely would not recommend this book to anyone. It's an overly dramatized, romanticized version of Herman Mudgett's life. Not one alleged crime written about is based on proof or confession. I think Eckert would have been better off writing a work of pure fiction *based* on the life of Herman Mudgett, though that seems pretty much what he did here. Maybe next time he should label it as such.

**EDIT**
I have since read "The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America." I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a factual account of Herman Mudgett's crimes. There is also a lot of information on the building of the World's Fair and about Chicago in general at this time.