Published by Spotify Audiobooks Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime
Format: ARC, Audiobook
The right to an unbiased/impartial jury at a public trial is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. Polly Bodine was not only tried at court by biased individuals, but by the court of public opinion, the media, and even P. T. Barnum made a joke and circus of her trial. Polly was a woman who enjoyed gin, was separated from her husband, commits adultery, and reportedly had abortions. Edgar Allen Poe and Walt Whitman were newsmen at the time who covered her case.
Polly had been accused of killing her brother’s wife, Emeline Houseman and her infant Ann Eliza. Their murders will be known as the “Christmas murders.”
I listened to the audiobook which I felt was terrific. Fans of True Crime will enjoy this book. I enjoyed hearing the court cases, the lawyers back and forth in court, the information on the judges, the jury, the way the public wanted to see her hang no matter if she was guilty or not. She was viewed as a fallen woman in the publics opinion and deserved to suffer. Dubbed The Witch of New York, the newspapers/tabloids sensationalized the case, presented Polly in the worst possible light, and made it hard to find impartial jurors. But was she innocent? Was she the villain she was painted to be? Readers can form their own opinions.
I enjoyed learning about this case and how this case gave birth to sensationalized tabloid journalism. The amount of research that went into the writing of this book was impressive. I enjoyed how it was presented. I also enjoyed how it was shown that public opinion and news media can sway jurors. Did tabloids interfere with legal justice?
I found this to be well done, interesting, and well thought out. I enjoy books that are not only educational but move me. I was not aware of this case prior to listening to the audiobook. I was also annoyed by how some of the professionals did not properly do their jobs, making sure the jurors were unbiased.
This was a gripping, well thought out, wonderfully narrated true crime book.
#TheWitchofNewYork #NetGalley #SpotifyAudiobooks #AlexHortis #TrueCrime
Thank you to Spotify Audiobooks and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.