A 19th century socialite born to a wealthy and influential Chicago family became the unlikely mother of modern forensics with her 'Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death,' a series of dollhouses she built as crime scene models.
... an engrossing and accessible chronicle of Frances’s life and the early years of scientific detection ... Mr. Goldfarb tells a great deal about Magrath’s career and, along the way, conveys the primitive and unsatisfying state of forensics in the early 20th century ... 'I hope that I have done her justice,' Mr. Goldfarb concludes. That he has.
Goldfarb’s unprecedented access to her family’s papers has enabled him not only to paint a full picture of Glessner Lee’s life and background but also to uncover less well-known aspects of her impact on the development of forensic science ... Although her career was bedeviled by setbacks, as Goldfarb ably demonstrates, Frances Glessner Lee made a real and lasting contribution to forensic science and medicine.
Goldfarb was selected as Lee’s official biographer by her family and was given full access to the family’s papers. Thorough research helps him paint a captivating portrait of a feminist hero and forensic pioneer. A stand-out addition to any library’s true-crime collection.
