Bibliograph

Hannah Mary Tabbs and the disembodied torso, a tale of race, sex, and violence in America, Kali Nicole Gross

Type

Label

Hannah Mary Tabbs and the disembodied torso, a tale of race, sex, and violence in America, Kali Nicole Gross

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 157-211) and index

Illustrations

mapsillustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Hannah Mary Tabbs and the disembodied torso

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

907657561

Responsibility statement

Kali Nicole Gross

Sub title

a tale of race, sex, and violence in America

Summary

Shortly after a dismembered torso was discovered by a pond outside Philadelphia in 1887, investigators homed in on two suspects: Hannah Mary Tabbs, a married, working-class, black woman, and George Wilson, a former neighbor whom Tabbs implicated after her arrest. As details surrounding the shocking case emerged, both the crime and ensuing trial brought otherwise taboo subjects such as illicit sex, adultery, and domestic violence in the black community to public attention. At the same time, the mixed race of the victim and one of his assailants exacerbated anxieties over the purity of whiteness in the post-Reconstruction era

Table Of Contents

Prologue -- Handle with care -- The woman found -- To do him bodily harm -- Wavy hair and nearly white skin -- Held for trial -- A most revolting deed -- Epilogue

Classification