Killed Strangely: The Death of Rebecca Cornell

Rating:
Summary: "Killed Strangely," a Fascinating Tale
Review: "Killed Strangely" is a thoroughly engrossing tale of the extraordinary crime of matricide in 17th century New England. Crane's skills as an historian give the reader a vivid sense of the texture of everyday life in the Rhode Island colony as well as the legal standards and practices that determined the community's judgment. Although this is a work of non-fiction, the reader becomes involved with the characters' lives and the uncertainties surrounding the event in much the same way one does with a good novel. Highly recommended for anyone curious about the ways in which the country's past and present interconnect.

Rating:
Summary: "Killed Strangely," a Fascinating Tale
Review: "Killed Strangely" is a thoroughly engrossing tale of the extraordinary crime of matricide in 17th century New England. Crane's skills as an historian give the reader a vivid sense of the texture of everyday life in the Rhode Island colony as well as the legal standards and practices that determined the community's judgment. Although this is a work of non-fiction, the reader becomes involved with the characters' lives and the uncertainties surrounding the event in much the same way one does with a good novel. Highly recommended for anyone curious about the ways in which the country's past and present interconnect.

Rating:
Summary: Why was this book written?
Review: At the end of the book, the author wonders why there was not more in history written about this important event. However, she fails to convince me that this was an important event. If she had intended this book to be about trends in history, it might have lived up to its purpose. However, as a story of the death of Rebecca Cornnell, it fails to accomplish little. I learned nothing new from reading this book, and in fact found it irritating at times when the author guessed at what might have happened, with very little basis to back up her guesses. She also did little to convince me of the relevance of the connection with possible future generations that she tacked on at the end.

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Summary: Fun and Interesting
Review: I found this book to be quite a good and fun read. Of course it's hard to read this book against today's social back-drop but Elaine Forman Crane really took me back to the time period.
Although the evidence is a bit scant - as is any from this time -Crane's conclusions are sound and well founded. I recommend this book with out reservation to all those interested in early American history and gender related history.

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Summary: CSI in Colonial Rhode Island
Review: Professor Crane combines scholarly insights with an easy, narrative style and wit to make "Killed Strangely" a wonderful bridge between the academic world and that of the casual reader of historical novels. In this she joins the likes of David McCullough and Joanne Freeman to prove that history can be serious without having to be dull.
Like a good crime scene investigator, Professor Crane unravels the details surrounding the death in February, 1673 of the elderly Rebecca Cornell, very possibly (but not necessarily)at the hands of her son, Thomas. But more than investigate the elements of a crime, she uses the skelton of Cornell's death and of Thomas' indictment and trial to create an understanding of the psychology and legal processes as well as the social and familial relationships of New England's Puritans and Quakers. We especially learn a lot about women, particulary elderly women, in the seventeenth century.
At least part of an historian's role is to link the threads of history pointing out to us similarities and differences between eras. Crane traces one of those threads through the Cornell family into the nineteenth century. That raises all kinds of questions that extend beyond the scope of history into the realms of psychology, sociology and even genetics. Crane, thereby, points a flashlight into dark corners where we sometimes do not want to look. In this, she is reminiscent of "All God's Children," the account of New York's juvenile killer, Willie Bosket, and his ancestry by Fox Butterfield.
Because we are of an era that believes in guilt "beyond a shadow of a doubt," we can be left unsatisfied by Thomas' conviction and execution as were, in fact, many of his contemporaries unfortunately for, his sake, posthumously. Crane addresses this in the chapter "Doubting Thomas: Or Considering the Alternatives." Unlike a tv show, history frequently cannot be neatly wrapped up in an hour and the plot sometimes does not end satisfactorily.
But "Killed Strangely" is an easily recomended work whether you are a fan of the History Channel or Court TV --- or simply of Law and Order and CSI.

Rating:
Summary: Wrtitten Strangely
Review: This book dares to be called an historical work. It should be deemed a fantasy. Rarely does the author clearly articulate reasons for her sweeping and farcical assumptions. When she describes Lizzie Borden as proof positive that the Cornells were genetically disposed to get angry enough to kill, she clearly crosses the line. Ms. Crane thanks her husband for his help by stating that he was her partner in crime. It's truly a crime that this book was ever published.

Rating:
Summary: Wrtitten Strangely
Review: This book dares to be called an historical work. It should be deemed a fantasy. Rarely does the author clearly articulate reasons for her sweeping and farcical assumptions. When she describes Lizzie Borden as proof positive that the Cornells were genetically disposed to get angry enough to kill, she clearly crosses the line. Ms. Crane thanks her husband for his help by stating that he was her partner in crime. It's truly a crime that this book was ever published.