That Damned Fellow Upstairs
In this classic work of true crime, Edmund Pearson examines the mysterious death of a young woman in a Boston boarding house in the early 1900s. The victim, a young woman named Mary Phagan, had been found strangled in the basement of the building. The prime suspect was Leo Frank, the Jewish superintendent of the factory where Mary worked. The case quickly became a media sensation, with newspapers and magazines across the country covering the story. Pearson examines the evidence and the trial, and looks at the anti-Semitism that was rampant in the South at the time. He also looks at the role of the Ku Klux Klan in the case, and the eventual lynching of Frank. The book is a fascinating look at a case that still resonates today, and a reminder of the power of prejudice and mob justice.
By Edmund Lester Pearson · First published 1937 · Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Historical Fiction