
The Witch of New York
The Trials of Polly Bodine and the Cursed Birth of Tabloid Justice
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Narrated by:
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Erin Bennett
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By:
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Alex Hortis
About this listen
Before the sensational cases of Amanda Knox and Casey Anthony—before even Lizzie Borden—there was Polly Bodine, the first American woman put on trial for capital murder in our nation’s debut media circus.
On Christmas night, December 25, 1843, in a serene village on Staten Island, shocked neighbors discovered the burnt remains of twenty-four-year-old mother Emeline Houseman and her infant daughter, Ann Eliza. In a perverse nativity, someone bludgeoned to death a mother and child in their home—and then covered up the crime with hellfire.
When an ambitious district attorney charges Polly Bodine (Emelin’s sister-in-law) with a double homicide, the new “penny press” explodes. Polly is a perfect media villain: she’s a separated wife who drinks gin, commits adultery, and has had multiple abortions. Between June 1844 and April 1846, the nation was enthralled by her three trials—in Staten Island, Manhattan, and Newburgh—for the “Christmas murders.”
After Polly’s legal dream team entered the fray, the press and the public debated not only her guilt, but her character and fate as a fallen woman in society. Public opinion split into different camps over her case. Edgar Allen Poe and Walt Whitman covered her case as young newsmen. P. T. Barnum made a circus out of it. James Fenimore Cooper’s last novel was inspired by her trials.
The Witch of New York is the first narrative history about the dueling trial lawyers, ruthless newsmen, and shameless hucksters who turned the Polly Bodine case into America’s formative tabloid trial. An origin story of how America became addicted to sensationalized reporting of criminal trials, The Witch of New York vividly reconstructs an epic mystery from Old New York—and uses the Bodine case to challenge our system of tabloid justice of today.
©2024 Alex Hortis (P)2024 Spotify AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
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it was good
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With only circumstantial evidence, prosecutors tried Mary three times with one hung jury, one guilty verdict which was later overturned and one innocent verdict.
The cards were stacked against Mary, who left her alcoholic and abusive husband after two years of marriage. Rumors of her promiscuity and prostitution plagued Mary, though she came from a reputable family of means. She became pregnant, further tarnishing her reputation. In mid nineteenth century New York, women who had to live like Mary, through no fault of their own, were assumed guilty of causing their situation, even if their husbands left them.
The audiobook narrator of THE WITCH OF NEW YORK did a fantastic job bringing she story to life. Her voice made interesting what would otherwise have been dull parts of the book.
The stark differences between trial protocols then and now made for interesting reading. Only men were allowed on juries and judges could allow in or out based on their opinions rather than law.
If you’re a true crime buff, THE WITCH OF NEW YORK is a must read.
Interesting!
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Entertaining and scary but not for the reason you think
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Boring
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