Title: 31 Bond Street
Author: Ellen Horan
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Publication Date: March 1, 2011
Paperback: 384 pages
ISBN: 978-0061773976
Genre: Historical Fiction
From the Publisher:
Who killed Dr. Harvey Burdell in his opulent Manhattan town house?
At once a gripping mystery and a richly detailed excavation of a lost age, 31 Bond Street is a spellbinding tale of murder, sex, greed, and politics in 1857 New York. Author Ellen Horan interweaves fact and fiction—reimagining the sensational nineteenth-century crime that rocked the city a few short years before the Civil War ripped through the fabric of the nation, while transporting readers back to a time that eerily echoes our own.
Though there are no clues to the brutal slaying of wealthy Dr. Burdell, suspicion quickly falls on Emma Cunningham, the refined, pale-skinned widow who managed his house and servants. An ambitious district attorney seeks a swift conviction, but defense attorney Henry Clinton is a formidable obstacle—a man firmly committed to justice and the law, and to the cause of a frightened, vulnerable woman desperately trying to save herself from the gallows.
My Review:
In 1857, Dr. Harvey Burdell of 31 Bond Street, New York, was murdered in his home and the case was never solved, becoming the basis for Ellen Horan’s historical fiction book 31 Bond Street. In Horan’s version she writes of the bumbling coroner Connelly, a fevered press leading to mobs of people out for vengeance, a slipshod investigation and Hall, the District Attorney who needs an expeditious conviction as he has higher political aspirations. The surest conviction would be to place the blame on Dr. Burdell’s driver, Samuel, yet he has vanished, most likely in fear of the Fugitive Slave Act so the powers that be turned to their next best suspect, the housemistress, Mrs. Emma Cunningham, widower and mother to two daughters. While under house detention, Emma pens a letter to Henry Clinton, a defense attorney who, against his wife’s advice, decides to take her case with the aid of young John, who worked for Dr. Burdell and can freely leave the house. John soon becomes Clinton’s eyes and ears. Horan weaves together a fascinating tale of a city growing, unrest in the country over slavery, the abuse of power, greed, indiscretion, and infidelity. 31 Bond Street is filled with actual copies of the newspaper clipping and while some of the book is historical fact other parts are pure conjecture. Horan paints a vivid, if not depressing, image of the ever growing trade town, the division of the haves and have nots, and the lengths people will go to for their own personal gain. The narrative is split primarily between Emma and Clinton. Emma takes the reader back to when she first met Dr. Burdell to present day whereas Henry Clinton speaks of the present and the investigation. While 31 Bond Street is a fictionalised historical mystery, a good portion of the book is spent in the courtroom as well as showing the reader New York society in 1857. It is interesting to see how the laws and procedures have changed over the past two centuries. While the characters are described in detail, I felt little for any save Henry, Elizabeth, and John. 31 Bond Street is an engaging mystery, with a page turning courtroom drama and some extraordinary twists and turns along the way, culminating in an explosive ending. I recommend 31 Bond Street to anyone looking for an exciting historical fiction mystery with courtroom drama.
A photo editor for books and magazines, Ellen Horan has worked on staff and in a freelance capacity for many publications, including Vanity Fair , Vogue , House & Garden , Forbes , and ARTnews , as well as for a number of book publishers. 31 Bond Street is her first novel.
To learn more about Ellen Horan, please visit her website and Facebook page.
For more reviews of the book, please follow the book tour.
I received a complimentary copy of 31 Bond Street by Ellen Horan from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.
I love historical mysteries, but I think I’ve only read one that had a lot of courtroom scenes. This one’s already on my to-read list and you’ve just reinforce my thoughts that I need to pick it up.
I am glad you enjoyed the review. Happy reading.
I didn’t realize there were actual copies of the newspaper articles in the book – I love that kind of stuff! Being a fan of historical fiction and the way it can blend with historical fact, I really think this would be a great read for me.
In a way it reminds me of THUNDERSTRUCK by Erik Larson, but I think that book was more a factual account and less a novelization.
Yes, the factual information is fascinating. I never read Thunderstruck, I will look that one up.
You should also try ALIAS GRACE by Margaret Atwood. It is written in a similar way about a similar situation, but I enjoyed it much more than THUNDERSTUCK.
I enjoy Margaret Atwood’s works.
Been enjoying the tour for this — esp since the reviews are all positive. Wanted to read this when it was first out — now I have to grab it!
It was an interesting historical criminal case.