Clara at the door with a revolver : the scandalous Black suspect, the exemplary White son, and the murder that shocked Toronto / Carolyn Whitzman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Whitzman, Carolyn, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Murder--Ontario--Toronto--Case studies.

Murder.

Trials (Murder)--Ontario--Toronto.

Trials (Murder).

Women, Black--Ontario--Toronto--Social conditions--19th century.

Women, Black.

Manners and customs.

Race relations.

Women, Black--Social conditions.

Ford, Clara, 1864?-.

Ford, Clara.

Ford, Clara, 1864?---Trials, litigation, etc.

Westwood, Frank, -1894.

Westwood, Frank.

Toronto (Ont.)--Race relations--History--19th century.

Toronto (Ont.).

Toronto (Ont.)--Social life and customs--19th century.

Ontario--Toronto.

Genre:

Biographies.

Case studies.

History.

Trials, litigation, etc.

Physical Description:

xii, 317 pages : illustrations, maps ; 22 cm

Place of Publication:

Vancouver ; Toronto : On Point Press, a UBC Press imprint, [2023]

Summary:

"In the autumnal darkness of October 6, 1894, an unseen figure slipped through the streets of Parkdale, rang the doorbell at the home of a well-to-do Toronto family, and shot Frank Westwood in his doorway, murdering him in cold blood. Six weeks later, the spotlight shone on the enigmatic Clara Ford, a Black tailor and single mother known for her impeccable work ethic and resolute personality - and for wearing men's attire. A former neighbour of the Westwoods, Clara was arrested and confessed to the murder. But as the details of her arrest and her complex connection to the Westwood family emerged, she recanted, testifying that she was coerced by police into a false confession. Clara was the first woman - and only the second person - to testify on her own behalf in a Canadian trial. Set in three acts, this story illuminates not only the riveting case itself but also the societal attitudes, gender and race hypocrisy, and the politics of media power in the growing city of Toronto. Carolyn Whitzman tells the compelling story of a courageous Black woman living in nineteenth-century Toronto and paints a portrait of a city and a society that have not changed enough in 125 years."-- Provided by publisher.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Whitzman, Carolyn. Clara at the door with a revolver.

ISBN:

9780774890618

0774890614

OCLC:

1341855064

Publisher Number:

99993299973