{"product_id":"the-murder-of-mary-bean-and-other-stories-9780873389181","title":"The Murder of Mary Bean: And Other Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWinner of the New England Historical Book Award and the Peter C. Rollins Book Award\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe facts and fiction of an infamous New England murder\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhen the winter ice melted in April 1850, residents of Saco, Maine, made a gruesome discovery: the body of a young girl submerged in a stream. Thanks to evidence left at the scene, a local physician was arrested and tried for the death of Mary Bean, the name given to the unidentified young girl; the cause of death was failed abortion. Garnering extensive newspaper coverage, the trial revealed many secrets: a poorly trained doctor, connections to an unsolved murder in New Hampshire, and the true identity of \"Mary Bean\"--a young Canadian mill worker named Berengera Caswell, missing since the previous winter. \u003cem\u003eThe Murder of Mary Bean and Other Stories\u003c\/em\u003e examines the series of events that led Caswell to become Mary Bean and the intense curiosity and anxiety stimulated by this heavily watched trial.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition to the sensationalist murder accounts, De Wolfe looks back at these events through a wide-angle lens exploring such themes as the rapid social changes brought about by urbanization and industrialization in antebellum nineteenth-century society, factory work and the changing roles for women, unregulated sexuality and the specter of abortion, and the sentimental novel as a guidebook. She posits that the real threat to women in the nineteenth century was not murder but a society that had ambiguous feelings about the role of women in the economic system, in education, and as independent citizens.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSure to place this case among the classics of crime literature, \u003cem\u003eThe Murder of Mary Bean and Other Stories\u003c\/em\u003e features two reprinted accounts of Caswell's death, both fictional and originally printed in the 1850s, as well as an introduction that places these salacious accounts in a historical context. This book serves not simply as true crime but, rather, presents a seamy side of rapid industrial growth and the public anxiety over the emerging economic roles of women.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Kent State University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/27\/2007\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780873389181\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.80lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.60d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e IndieFab awards - Second Place\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAward:\u003c\/b\u003e Independent Publisher Book Awards - Bronze Medal Winner","brand":"de Wolfe","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52239143927989,"sku":"9780873389181","price":21.21,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_4440fcb8-075f-4e98-a5ef-8e2dc3acd90f.jpg?v=1770916946","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-murder-of-mary-bean-and-other-stories-9780873389181","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}