... 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.
Goldfarb's clearly written and well-researched book is recommended for history and legal studies audiences. For further reading, suggest Corinne May Botz's The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death.
Journalist Goldfarb takes an eye-opening look in his fascinating biography at the crucial role played by heiress Frances Glessner Lee (1878–1962) in the development of U.S. scientific crime examination. Goldfarb puts Lee’s achievements in perspective ... the author more than makes the case for his astonishing proposition that this 'decorous grandmother with a preference for brimless Queen Mary hats... was nearly single-handedly responsible for the establishment of legal medicine' in the U.S. Goldfarb’s storytelling gifts will lead readers of insightful true crime to hope he will write more in the field. Devotees of TV’s CSI will have their minds blown.
