DOC A Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms Being an Account by the Chinese Monk Fa-Hien of His Travels in India and Ceylon in Search of the Buddhist Books of Discipline by From James Legge in History

Description

In September 1868; the remains of Jacob and Nancy Jane Young were found lying near the banks of Indiana’s White River. It was a gruesome scene. Part of Jacob’s face had been blown off; apparently by the shotgun that lay a few feet away. Spiders and black beetles crawled over his wound. Smoke rose from his wife’s smoldering body; which was so badly burned that her intestines were exposed; the flesh on her thighs gone; and the bones partially reduced to powder. Suspicion for both deaths turned to Nancy Clem; a housewife who was also one of Mr. Young’s former business partners. In The Notorious Mrs. Clem; Wendy Gamber chronicles the life and times of this charming and persuasive Gilded Age confidence woman; who became famous not only as an accused murderess but also as an itinerant peddler of patent medicine and the supposed originator of the Ponzi scheme. Clem’s story is a shocking tale of friendship and betrayal; crime and punishment; courtroom drama and partisan politicking; get-rich-quick schemes and shady business deals. It also raises fascinating questions about women’s place in an evolving urban economy. As they argued over Clem’s guilt or innocence; lawyers; jurors; and ordinary citizens pondered competing ideas about gender; money; and marriage. Was Clem on trial because she allegedly murdered her business partner? Or was she on trial because she engaged in business? Along the way; Gamber introduces a host of equally compelling characters; from prosecuting attorney and future U.S. president Benjamin Harrison to folksy defense lawyer John Hanna; daring detective Peter Wilkins; pioneering "lady news writer" Laura Ream; and female-remedy manufacturer Michael Slavin. Based on extensive sources; including newspapers; trial documents; and local histories; this gripping account of a seemingly typical woman who achieved extraordinary notoriety will appeal to true crime lovers and historians alike.