Narrative and Confessions of Lucretia P. Cannon

This brief biography of Delmarva's infamous kidnapper and serial killer Patty Cannon, published in 1841, might contain more fiction than fact-even the name Lucretia is questionable-but it is one of the earliest sources of information about her life, crimes, and death. Perhaps the sensational scenes depicted in the text, such as Cannon's killing of a screaming child in an open fire, were based on genuine rumors in circulation during the decade after her death, whether they were true or not. ...