Never Seen the Moon (ePub)

Never Seen the Moon carefully yet lucidly recreates a young woman's wild ride through the American legal system. In 1935, free-spirited young teacher Edith Maxwell and her mother were indicted for murdering Edith's conservative and domineering father, Trigg, late one July night in their Wise County, Virginia, home. Edith claimed her father had tried to whip her for staying out late. She said that she had defended herself by striking back with a high-heeled shoe, thus earning herself the sobriquet "slipper slayer."
Immediately granted celebrity status by the powerful Hearst press, Maxwell was also championed as a martyr by advocates of women's causes. National news magazines and even detective magazines picked up her story, Warner Brothers created a screen version, and Eleanor Roosevelt helped secure her early release from prison. Sharon Hatfield's brilliant telling of this true-crime story transforms a dusty piece of history into a vibrant thriller. Throughout the narrative, she discusses yellow journalism, the inequities of the jury system, class and gender tensions in a developing region, and a woman's right to defend herself from family violence.|
Contents Preface Acknowledgments 1. No Fire Here 2. The Purloined Peas 3. A Two-Hour Grilling 4. Becoming "Miss Edith" 5. A Man of Easy-Going Disposition 6. The Mountain Code 7. Buying Time 8. Witness for the Prosecution 9. The Men Decide 10. A Mouse in a Trap? 11. Trading Places 12. Country People without Money 13. The East Steps In 14. Big-Shots in Town 15. Let's Have a Show 16. A Change of Scenery 17. Roman Holiday 18. Coma Tiller's Axe 19. Least Said, Least Mended 20. The Little Sister with the Golden Curls 21. Marry in Haste, Repent at Leisure 22. Six Coon Hounds from Kentucky 23. Smith Redux 24. The Wishing Book 25. Goochland 26. The Two Eleanors Epilogue Afterword Notes Bibliographic Essay Index|A native of Appalachian Virginia, Sharon Hatfield was an award-winning newspaper reporter in Wise County, Virginia. She is coeditor of An American Vein: Critical Readings in Appalachian Literature.