Before the sensational cases of Amanda Knox and Casey Anthony—before even Lizzie Borden—there was Polly Bodine, the first American woman put on trial for capital murder in our nation’s debut media circus.
Hortis ably sketches the legal and journalistic wranglings that accompanied the Bodine case ... Hortis, an attorney whose previous book chronicled organized crime, covers this material with workmanlike efficiency and a keen eye for courtroom theatrics. As quaint as some of the story’s details may seem, its themes feel remarkably contemporary: We still rush to judgment, resort to stereotyping and fall for all kinds of propaganda. If the narrative takes some time to get going, the reader is rewarded by the increasingly bonkers trials and their fallout. And it’s impossible to argue with the book’s thesis: 'Tabloid justice would, one way or another, alter American law.'
A riveting true crime story ... The book includes a wealth of enticing historical details, as of newspaper carrier pigeons waiting for their next delivery and the lighting of candles in the courtroom chandeliers. And Polly’s three trials are recreated with the gripping pace of a novel ... Rollicking and unnerving, The Witch of New York spotlights one of the first media-driven trials and a continuing social climate of biased and sexist judgments.
Hortis’ narrative demonstrates the dilemma many women faced, lacking legal recourse, as well as the effect that tabloid journalism could have on a trial by swaying public opinion. A sure hit for true crime fans.
