DOC The Girls of Murder City: Fame; Lust; and the Beautiful Killers Who Inspired Chicago by Douglas Perry in History

Review

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A must read for fans of true crime; Chicago history and the early years of the 20th centuryBy Andy GlassAs a native of Chicago; I simply ate this book up. I've always been interested in Chicago history; but this book offered a different wrinkle. It's based on the story that lead to the writing of the play Chicago - yes; that Chicago; which was turned into an Oscar winning musical. Perry tells the story of the actual Girls of Murder City - the murderesses who were sensationalized in the late teens in Chicago; and the "girl reporter;" Maurine Watkins who covered their stories (and wrote the original play) for the Chicago Tribune. Overlapping the last chapters was the infamous Leopold and Loeb murder; which helps put the whole story in a familiar time and place. And also very interesting were the late chapters of the book detailing Ms. Watkins' story following the production of the play and her stint in Hollywood. A must read for fans of true crime; Chicago history and the early years of the 20th century.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. reads like fictionBy GrrrrrrThe setting: Chicago; 1920's; Jazz Age; prohibition; flappers and all the fun thatentails. Newspapers fighting for the top spot; the best stories. And a wave of girl murderers. Women were shooting; stabbing; poisoning their lovers; their husbands. And the all-male juries kept letting them go free.The Girls of Murder City focuses mostly on the trials of Belva Gaertner and Beulah Annan. Belva; a rich divorcee was accused of killing one of her lovers in a car outside her apartment. Beulah; is a married woman; accused of killing her lover after he threatens to leave her. These two women loved the spotlight and could not stop talking to the press about what they had done. And the public loved them!Maurine Watkins is a small-town girl who moves to Chicago to cover the crime beat for the Chicago Tribune and eventually writes the play Chicago; that the musical is based on.I don't read a lot of non-fiction but this is the kind I like when I do. It reads like fiction and was very entertaining. Besides covering the trials of these two women; it discussed other famous women on Murderess Row; the reporters who cover these stories and sit outside their cells writing every word they say. The book also discusses the competition between newspapers; journalism and the public's fascination with these women killers.One woman; kills her husband or lover; I can't remember which; flees Chicago then eventually commits suicide. Thousands of people mobbed her funeral; overwhelming her family and the police.This was very enjoyable. I am one of the few people who has not seen the musical Chicago; not even the movie version; but I loved this account of the women who inspired it. The book was fast-paced entertainment; a great read.my rating 4.5/53 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Colorful Account of Celebrity MurderessesBy D_shrinkLet me say I liked the book. It is primarily the story of a novice Chicago Tribune crime reporter by the name of Maurine Watkins; who began her career covering female killers in the Windy City of 1924. Most of the book is taken up with her coverage of two major murder trials of the day in which one extremely beautiful woman named Beulah Annan killed her lover and then claimed he was trying to rape her while she was pregnant. She wasn't pregnant and she gave him the money to buy the cheap wine they drank as they made out on her sofa while her husband was at work. The other femme fatale was Belva 'Belle' Gaertner; a twice divorced socialite with important connections throughout the area due to her ex-husband; who seemed to relish the role being known as Chicago's biggest cuckold. Belva whacked her younger boyfriend in her car down the block from her house when he wanted to break it off and then claimed she couldn't remember anything about that night. Beulah and Belva both faced all male juries; who would never convict beauty regardless of the evidence; especially when they each had high powered legal help. Those of lesser beauty and/or sophistication did not always fare as well at the time. Before you think that couldn't happen today; perhaps consider the goings on with Paris; Lindsay; and Britney.The hook to the story is that Maurine quit her crime reporting shortly after these two trials and went back to grad school at Yale; wanting to be a playwright with a Broadway hit. She fashioned her play on all the girls murder trials she covered in Chicago; even using direct trial dialog calling the play 'The Brave Little Woman'; but on advice from her mentor changed the name to CHICAGO CHICAGO The Original 1927 Film Restored and as we know that was done several times on Broadway and internationally plus had several versions with the 2002 version winning the Best Picture award Chicago (Widescreen Edition).Maurine covered several other murder stories and the book details them also and her rivalry with the other female crime reporters from other more feminist papers and derisively referred to as the 'SOB SISTERS' ; but the book basically focuses on these two 'girl gunners' as they are so often called in the book. She even covers part of the Bobby Franks murder by Nathan Leopold and Dicky Loew; but was disgusted by their motivation for the crime even more so than the reasons that Beulah and Belva gave for theirs. The story is pretty much told in a a Damon Runyonesqe voice moderated by Joe Friday's close clipped accounts. It was a nice friendly read at only 304pp and it may not want to make you become a crime reporter or attend law school; but it should provide some satisfaction on how the story finally ends for both these and other women discussed in the book. It's a great book to curl up by the fire with.