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The Trial of Levi Weeks: Or The Manhattan Well Mystery
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About the BookIn 1799, the murder of a young woman caused a terrific stir in the city of New York. The victim was Gulielma Sands, whose bruised body was found in the Manhattan Well, a 20-minute carriage ride from her home. The accused was Levi Weeks, who, Miss Sands had claimed, was to marry her the night she disappeared. The citizens of New York raised an enormous hue and cry over the murder and-when the verdict was read-few felt that justice had been done. This book is at once a retelling of a true crime in which the voices of early New Yorkers come to us freshly from over two centuries, and a riveting legal and social history of New York in the early years of the Republic. Reviews"A neat real-life thriller, then, as well as a rich re-creation of old New York."––Kirkus Reviews ". . . combines a seamy little tale of seduction, betrayal and death with a study of the early intrusion of political influence into the criminal justice system."––Chicago Sun-Times ". . . it is a worthy book."––Wall Street Journal "If the reader is interested in . . . visiting the sights and sounds surrounding America's first recorded murder trial, then The Trial of Levi Weeks is the proper transportation."––New York Times ". . . offers an interesting view of the way criminal trials were conducted at the time."––Publishers Weekly "A delightful snapshot of rough-and-ready justice."––Washington Times |
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