Saving Sin City

by Mary Cummings

Overview

When Stanford White was murdered by Harry K. Thaw in 1906, his death become known as “The Crime of the Century.” Thaw was the debauched and deranged heir to a Pittsburgh fortune with a sadistic streak. White was an artistic genius and one of the world’s premier architects, who became obsessed with a teenaged chorus girl, Evelyn Nesbit. Nesbit and Thaw would eventually marry, but Thaw’s lingering jealousy and anger culminated in White’s murder—and shocking trial about a murder committed in front of dozens of eyewitnesses.Promising young D.A. William Travers Jerome would find his faith in himself and the law severely tested as he battled colorful crooks, licentious grandees, and corrupt politicians. Cummings brilliant reveals the social issues simmering below the surface of New York that Jerome had to face. Filled with mesmerizing drama, rich period details, and fascinating characters, Saving Sin City sheds fresh light on crimes whose impact still echoes throughout the twenty-first century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681778068
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	05/01/2018
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Mary Cummings is a writer and historian. She has been awarded by the New York Press Association for her obituary of Joseph Heller and a “Best In-Depth Reporting” Award for “Troubled Waters,” a series on Long Island’s threatened groundwater supply. She has written for The New York Times, Newsday, Time Out New York, and more, and was the arts editor and principal feature writer at The Southampton Press. She is a graduate of Smith College with a master’s degree from Stony Brook University. She lives in Southampton, New York.
Mary Cummings is a writer and historian. She has been awarded by the New York Press Association for her obituary of Joseph Heller and a Best In-Depth Reporting Award for "Troubled Waters" a series on Long Island's threatened groundwater supply. She has written for The New York Times, Newsday, Time Out New York, and more, and was the arts editor and principal feature writer at The Southampton Press. She is a graduate of Smith College with a master's degree from Stony Brook University. She lives in Southampton, New York.

Table of Contents

Prologue vii

1901

1 "The Judge with The AX" 3

2 Passion Sparked 11

3 A Difficult Launch 21

4 On Top of The World 29

5 Coo-Goos and Grafters 41

6 Soaring Celebrity, Soaring Debts 53

7 A Hero on The Hustings 59

8 "Mad Harry" 67

1902

9 Into The Fray 77

10 Passionate Playmates 83

11 "The King of Gamblers" 87

12 Errant Evelyn 93

1903

13 Charlie's Folly 101

14 Heading for Trouble 105

15 The Dodge-Morse Tangle 111

16 Thaw Unmasked 115

17 Jerome's Secret 123

1904

18 Spiraling Downward 129

19 Death in a Hansom Cab 133

20 Evelyn Ascendant 137

21 Hard Work and Headaches 141

21 Keeping up Appearances 149

1905

23 Corporate Scandal and a Cautionary Case 155

24 Coming to Terms 159

25 "The Big Spider" 165

26 A Shopping Spree 171

27 More Challenges 175

28 Paradise Lost 183

29 Another Probe, a New Hero 187

1906

30 Gathering Shadows 191

31 A High-Wire Act 195

32 June 25, 1906 201

33 Before The Storm 207

34 A Discreet Farewell 213

35 The Press Pounces 215

36 Girding for Battle 219

1907

37 People V. Harry K. Thaw I: The Preliminaries 225

38 People V. Harry K. Thaw I: "The Angel Child" 233

39 People V. Harry K. Thaw I: Jerome, The Inquisitor 241

40 People V. Harry K. Thaw I: Closing Arguments 253

1908

41 People V. Harry K. Thaw I: A "Proper Verdict" 261

42 Finished at Fifty 271

Epilogue 275

Works Cited By Chapter 283

Editorial Reviews

05/01/2018
In June 1906, Harry Thaw, scion of a wealthy Pittsburgh family, shot architect Stanford White in a jealous rage over chorus girl Evelyn Nesbit. The collision of beauty, money, passion, and murder was catnip for the press, who called it the Trial of the Century. This oft-told tale still fascinates, and historian Cummings finds a new way of examining the case and its implications, delving deeply into the life and work of William Travers Jerome, a crusading lawyer and political hopeful whose prosecution of Thaw was thwarted by the very climate of corruption he fought for years. Born into the same wealth and privilege as White, Travers became a crusader for reform, taking on the corrupt Tammany Hall political machine with varying success. Frustrated in his efforts to bring down the mighty, he saw the high-profile Thaw case as the make-or-break point for his career. The attempt failed, and the man who once sought the governor's mansion became barely a footnote in history. VERDICT Cummings brings the Gilded Age to vivid life, with the barest suggestion of connections to today's click-bait news culture and epidemic of "affluenza." For popular history buffs as well as true crime fans.—Deirdre Bray Root, formerly with MidPointe Lib. Syst., OH

Library Journal

A timely, provocative, and stylishly written book.

James Presley

What an entertaining and exhilarating read. Deeply researched and thought-provoking, this book is a joyride through the history of New York.

Brad Ricca

An excellent history.

Popular Culture Association

Saving Sin City is The Age of Innocence meets Dominck Dunne. Mary Cummings is a wonderful storyteller and brings to life a rich, fascinating era at the turn of the last century, from ballrooms to courtrooms, with a fascinating cast of characters, high and low.

Steven Gaines

Saving Sin CityisThe Age of Innocencemeets Dominck Dunne. Mary Cummings is a wonderful storyteller and brings to life a rich, fascinating era at the turn of the last century, from ballrooms to courtrooms, with a fascinating cast of characters, high and low.”

Steve Gaines

Provocative and enthralling.

Dan's Papers

Like the public at the time of the murder, I craved fresh details. Indeed, I thought I knew it all, which is why Saving Sin City is so much fun. The fine reporter that she is, Ms. Cummings sets a scene with an economy of words and sly metaphors. Cummings shifts from ballrooms, to louche art studios and restaurants, to crime scenes and courtrooms. Not only do those scenes convey a strong sense of this extraordinary bygone era, they crackle with authenticity.

The East Hampton Star

This work of narrative nonfiction offers a richly detailed plunge into the excesses of the Gilded Age, as revealed in one infamous love triangle. Journalist Cummings adds a new dimension to a case thats often been written about, that of the murder of famed New York society architect Stanford White by Harry K. Thaw, a psychopathic millionaire playboy. Cummings gift for the odd detail and for describing physical settings make this latest account of the Stanford White murder a standout.

Booklist (starred)

A story of a time not unlike our own, when New Yorkers were swept up in a ‘contagious lust for riches.’ A fabulously entertaining tale, well told—and sobering

NPR

What is the chief end of man?’ Mark Twain asks. ‘To get rich. In what way? Dishonestly if we can, honestly if we must.’ Add sex and ego as two more goals and the self-destructive means to those ends (lusted after by women, too) are re-examined in Ms. Cummings’s Saving Sin City. Ms. Cummings focuses on Jerome, the Manhattan district attorney, in a methodical, but engrossing account.

New York Times

“‘What is the chief end of man?’ Mark Twain asks. ‘To get rich. In what way? Dishonestly if we can, honestly if we must.’ Add sex and ego as two more goals and the self-destructive means to those ends (lusted after by women, too) are re-examined in Ms. Cummings’s Saving Sin City. An engrossing account.”—The New York Times

“A story of a time not unlike our own, when New Yorkers were swept up in a ‘contagious lust for riches.’ A fabulously entertaining tale, well told—and sobering.”—NPR

“This work of narrative nonfiction offers a richly detailed plunge into the excesses of the Gilded Age, as revealed in one infamous love triangle. Cummings gift for the odd detail and for describing physical settings make this latest account of the Stanford White murder a standout.”—Booklist (starred)

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