Arsenic And Clam Chowder - Virtual Book Tour

Arsenic and Clam Chowder: Murder in Gilded Age New York
By James D. Livingston

Details: Hardcover, 192 pages
ISBN13: 9781438431796

Description: (From Pump Up Your Book)

Arsenic and Clam Chowder recounts the sensational 1896 murder trial of Mary Alice Livingston, a member of one of the most prestigious families in New York, who was accused of murdering her own mother, Evelina Bliss. The bizarre instrument of death, an arsenic-laced pail of clam chowder, had been delivered to the victim by her ten-year-old granddaughter, and Livingston was arrested in her mourning clothes immediately after attending her mother’s funeral. In addition to being the mother of four out-of-wedlock children, the last born in prison while she was awaiting trial, Livingston faced the possibility of being the first woman to be executed in New York’s new-fangled electric chair, and all these lurid details made her arrest and trial the central focus of an all-out circulation war then underway between Joseph Pulitzer’s World and Randolph Hearst’s Journal.

The story is set against the electric backdrop of Gilded Age Manhattan. The arrival of skyscrapers, automobiles, motion pictures, and other modern marvels in the 1890s was transforming urban life with breathtaking speed, just as the battles of reformers against vice, police corruption, and Tammany Hall were transforming the city’s political life. The aspiring politician Teddy Roosevelt, the prolific inventor Thomas Edison, bon vivant Diamond Jim Brady, and his companion Lillian Russell were among Gotham’s larger-than-life personalities, and they all played cameo roles in the dramatic story of Mary Alice Livingston and her arsenic-laced clam chowder. In addition to telling a ripping good story, the book addresses a number of social and legal issues, among them capital punishment, equal rights for women, societal sexual standards, inheritance laws in regard to murder, gender bias of juries, and the meaning of “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

My Thoughts:

I love reading about things that have happened in the past and this murder/trial that took place back in 1890's was an enjoyable read for me. It was so fascinating to me to keep reading on to find out what was happening next. I love true crime and historical type books and this definitely was both. This was a hard to put down book.

The author does a fantastic job in writing this novel. I thought the Pictures and drawings in the middle of the book was very helpful in relating to what was being read in the book. I really enjoyed actually seeing what the characters and what the area looked like.

There were some twists in the book that just totally made me stop and say no way.... This is a book I would recommend to anyone who is wanting a well written fascinating wonderful read. If I had to put a star rating on this book it would get an easy 5 stars. It was wonderfully written, kept my attention, Very hard to put down and definitely well worth the money.


About The Author:

Born June 23, 1930, in Brooklyn, New York, James D. Livingston studied engineering physics at Cornell University and received a PhD in applied physics from Harvard University in 1956. After retiring from General Electric after a lengthy career as a research physicist, he taught in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT. Although a physicist by profession, he has long had a strong interest in American history, and is the coauthor, with Sherry H. Penney, of A Very Dangerous Woman: Martha Wright and Women’s Rights.

You can find out more about James and Arsenic and Clam Chowder at www.jamesdlivingston.net.

* I have been provided a complimentary copy of Arsenic and Clam Chowder for review by the Author James D. Livingston threw an opportunity from Pump Up Your Book. By receiving a complimentary copy it in no way obligates me to write a good or bad review. I am an honest reviewer and my reviews are based on my own opinion and only written by me.*