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Alchemy of Bones : Chicago's Luetgert Murder Case Of 1897 by Robert Loerzel (2003, Hardcover)

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About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherUniversity of Illinois Press

ISBN-100252028589

ISBN-139780252028588

eBay Product ID (ePID)2442999

Product Key Features

Book TitleAlchemy of Bones : Chicago's Luetgert Murder Case of 1897

Number of Pages352 Pages

LanguageEnglish

TopicMurder / General, Legal History, United States / State & Local / MidWest (IA, Il, in, Ks, Mi, MN, Mo, Nd, Ne, Oh, Sd, Wi), Criminology

Publication Year2003

IllustratorYes

GenreLaw, True Crime, Social Science, History

AuthorRobert Loerzel

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Weight25.4 Oz

Item Length9 in

Item Width6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceTrade

LCCN2002-154447

Dewey Edition21

Reviews"Loerzel has done an impeccable research job and tells the story as if he were a fly on the wall."-- CBA Records, "Thanks to Robert Loerzel this fascinating case comes to life to show forensic scientists and investigators how much has changed (and hasn't changed) in the one hundred years since it captured the nation's attention."-- Journal of Forensic Science , "Alchemy of Bones is an exceptional example of the true-crime genre."-- Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, "Thanks to Robert Loerzel this fascinating case comes to life to show forensic scientists and investigators how much has changed (and hasn't changed) in the one hundred years since it captured the nation's attention."-- Journal of Forensic Science

Dewey Decimal364.15/23/092

SynopsisOn May 1, 1897, Louise Luetgert disappeared. Although no body was found, Chicago police arrested her husband, Adolph, the owner of a large sausage factory, and charged him with her murder. The eyes of the world were still on Chicago following the success of the World's Columbian Exposition, and the Luetgert case, with its missing victim, once-prosperous suspect, and all manner of gruesome theories regarding the disposal of the corpse, turned into one of the first media-fueled celebrity trials in American history. Newspapers fought one another for scoops, people across the country claimed to have seen the missing woman alive, and each new clue led to fresh rounds of speculation about the crime. Meanwhile, sausage sales plummeted nationwide as rumors circulated that Luetgert had destroyed his wife's body in one of his factory's meat grinders. In this narrative history of the Luetgert case, Robert Loerzel brings 1890s Chicago vividly back to life. He examines not only the trial itself but also the police department and forensic specialists investigating the case, the reporters scrambling for details, and the wider society who followed their stories so voraciously. Weaving in strange-but-true subplots involving hypnotists, palmreaders, English con-artists, bullied witnesses, and insane-asylum body-snatchers, Alchemy of Bones is more than just a true crime narrative; it is a grand, sprawling portrait of a city--and a nation--getting an early taste of the dark, chaotic twentieth century. , On May 1, 1897, Louise Luetgert disappeared. Although no body was found, Chicago police arrested her husband, Adolph, the owner of a large sausage factory, and charged him with murder. The eyes of the world were still on Chicago following the success of the World's Columbian Exposition, and the Luetgert case, with its missing victim, once-prosperous suspect, and all manner of gruesome theories regarding the disposal of the corpse, turned into one of the first media-fueled celebrity trials in American history. Newspapers fought one another for scoops, people across the country claimed to have seen the missing woman alive, and each new clue led to fresh rounds of speculation about the crime. Meanwhile, sausage sales plummeted nationwide as rumors circulated that Luetgert had destroyed his wife's body in one of his factory's meat grinders. Weaving in strange-but-true subplots involving hypnotists, palmreaders, English con artists, bullied witnesses, and insane-asylum bodysnatchers, Alchemy of Bones is more than just a true crime narrative; it is a grand, sprawling portrait of 1890s Chicago--and a nation--getting an early taste of the dark, chaotic twentieth century.

LC Classification NumberHV6534.C4L64 2003