Tales From Clark Street: The Girls of Murder City: A Book Review

My free review copy of The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago by Douglas Perry (Thank you Gabrielle Gantz and Penguin!) is all crinkled up because I've been carrying it around incessantly. I have shown all my friends. I took it to the watering hole. I've been prattling on about it to my parents. Basically, I was completely fascinated by and obsessed with this book. And guess what? I've never even seen Chicago. It doesn't matter. I now know the true story--and it's a whopper.

The Girls of Murder City focuses on two women who were charged with drunkenly murdering their lovers (one was married and the other divorced) in 1920s Chicago--during Prohibition. Belva Gaertner and Beulah Annan were the two prettiest and classiest women on "murderess row" down at the po-po station. It was a crowded place. It turns out all kinds of women were murdering their husbands and lovers--and popping right back out of jail because the all-male juries at the time basically refused to convict pretty girls. Seriously? Yes.

I love a good true crime story, but this book also gave me insight into old-school newspaper coverage. Maurine Watkins, the reporter who covered the trial for the Chicago Tribune, jumped right into the manly world of crime reporting and slayed it. Watkins was AWESOME. (Oh yeah, and she later went on to write Chicago.) Back then, reporters could go in jail cells to interview the incarcerated, so Belva and Beulah put on quite the show. Watkins saw right through them.

Douglas Perry recreates the 1920s scene perfectly. I could vividly picture all of the characters and the madness that surrounded this trial. Fresh off the Casey Anthony verdict, I realized that media sensationalism has been here all along:

"Court fans--Beulah fans--had begun arriving at the courthouse two hours before the doors opened and rushed for seats as soon as they were allowed inside. A large crowd didn't make it into Judge Lindsay's courtroom; bailiffs had to force the doors shut after the room filled past capacity. The lucky ones who did get in sat on windowsills and stood on benches. Unable to see from the back, young women, throwing propriety aside, asked to be boosted up by strange men."

Women were supposed to be quiet and meek back then. These murderesses threw a wrench in all of that. They certainly weren't alone because the jail was filled with "girl" gunners at the time. I find it interesting that even though women have been offing their enemies since the beginning of time, people still find it horrifying when a female commits a "male crime." Even now in 2011, it's "shocking" when a woman murders someone. It goes against everything that is feminine and pretty and good. Interesting. Why? Food for another post.

The Girls of Murder City is available in paper now, so hook yourself up. I won't tell you what happens to the murderesses because reading about them was so enjoyable that I refuse to spoil it. Even if you've seen the movie, you will want to read about the real deal. There are many more characters to enjoy besides Belva and Beulah--all sorts of wacky people doing wackadoo things. Oh Chicago, you've always been such a wild city. I'm amazed I escaped you unscathed...

(Also? Props to the cover designers. Love it.)

Source: http://talesfromclarkstreet.blogspot.com/2011/07/girls-of-murder-city-book-review.html

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