Had the author maintained greater objectivity, I think I would have awarded the book four stars. It is demeaning and off-putting, and, in my personal opinion, a grave detractor from the quality of the writing and the overall consideration of the work as a serious foray into a true crime genre. However, despite addressing the fact of the crude commonality and acknowledging it once or even twice, the author continued to use the term gratuitously, ostensibly defending the term with frequent references to the normality in the time period and his obvious belief in having the artistic license to utilize it in kind.Īdditionally, in terms of opinions of the intelligence of the victims and bystanders, he references stupidity, etc., also not generally considered objective descriptions in a serious work.

In terms of race, he makes prolific use of the “n” word, citing the common vernacular of that era. He referred to victims and perpetrator alike as ugly, etc., not terms generally used by serious writers of nonfiction and biographical accounts. instead of saying overweight, he said fat, in place of tall, he would employ mannish.

The author takes multitudes of opportunities to describe women in the book in unflattering terminologies rather than using objective descriptors in terms of weight, facial features, skin colors, etc., i.e. while I realize this author has written other relatively well-received works, I have a hard time believing that he could be an accomplished biographical true crime author with his obvious preconceptions and biases, especially against women, African Americans, and people with less than average IQs. Truth be told, the work itself was very much worth the read (and a boatload of stars), but. I appreciate the attention to details, court records, and even word of mouth from the time period- no aspect of the crime went unattended to. This book was a well-researched compilation of facts and rumors heretofore only available through a patchwork of different readings and articles.

Hell's Princess by Harold Schechter