The trials of Laura Fair : sex, murder, and insanity in the Victorian West / Carole Haber.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Haber, Carole, 1951-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Trials (Murder)--California--San Francisco.

Trials (Murder).

Crittenden, Alexander Parker, 1816-1870.

Crittenden, Alexander Parker.

Fair, Laura D., 1837-1919--Trials, litigation, etc.

Fair, Laura D.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (325 pages)

Place of Publication:

Chapel Hill : University of North Carolina Press, c2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

On November 3, 1870, on a San Francisco ferry, Laura Fair shot a bullet into the heart of her married lover, A. P. Crittenden. Throughout her two murder trials, Fair's lawyers, supported by expert testimony from physicians, claimed that the shooting was the result of temporary insanity caused by a severely painful menstrual cycle. The first jury disregarded such testimony, choosing instead to focus on Fair's disreputable character. In the second trial, however, an effective defense built on contemporary medical beliefs and gendered stereotypes led to a verdict that shocked Americans across the

Contents:

Introduction : Laura D. Fair and the unwritten law

The she-devil known as Mrs. Laura D. Fair

The case for the prosecution

The defense responds

The Appeal

The Second Trial

The Fair Lunatic

Epilogue: The Many Faces of Laura D. Fair

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9798893130119

9798890840257

9781469607597

146960759X

9781469612539

1469612534