Blood & Ink
The Scandalous Jazz Age Double Murder That Hooked America on True Crime
- 400 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
New York Times Editor's Pick & Best True Crime of 2022
“Blood & Ink is among 2022’s best works of true crime.” —Washington Post
Vanity Fair’s Joe Pompeo investigates the notorious 1922 double murder of a high-society minister and his secret mistress, a Jazz Age mega-crime that propelled tabloid news in the 20th century.
On September 16, 1922, the bodies of Reverend Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills were found beneath a crabapple tree on an abandoned farm outside of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The killer had arranged the bodies in a pose conveying intimacy.
The murder of Hall, a prominent clergyman whose wife, Frances Hall, was a proud heiress with illustrious ancestors and ties to the Johnson & Johnson dynasty, would have made headlines on its own. But when authorities identified Eleanor Mills as a choir singer from his church married to the church sexton, the story shocked locals and sent the scandal ricocheting around the country, fueling the nascent tabloid industry. This provincial double murder on a lonely lover’s lane would soon become one of the most famous killings in American history—a veritable crime of the century.
The bumbling local authorities failed to secure any indictments, however, and it took a swashbuckling crusade by the editor of a circulation-hungry Hearst tabloid to revive the case and bring it to trial at last.
Blood & Ink freshly chronicles what remains one of the most electrifying but forgotten murder mysteries in U.S. history. It also traces the birth of American tabloid journalism, pandering to the masses with sordid tales of love, sex, money, and murder.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction
- 1. The Crabapple Tree
- 2. The Heiress
- 3. The Tabloid Editor
- 4. The Reverend
- 5. The Choir Singer
- 6. “Hark! Hark, My Soul!”
- 7. “Billy Goat! Billy Goat!”
- 8. The Flapper
- 9. The Sideshow
- 10. “House of Mystery”
- 11. The Pig Woman
- 12. Meet the Press
- 13. The Grand Jury
- 14. Madame Astra
- 15. “A New, Mongrel Fourth Estate”
- 16. “Investigation A”
- 17. “A Tissue of Disgusting Lies!”
- 18. The Arrests
- 19. Trial of the Century
- 20. “I Have Told Them the Truth, So Help Me God!”
- 21. “A Sort of Genius”
- 22. The Verdict
- 23. Old Glory
- 24. And Then There Were None
- 25. A Room with a View
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgments
- A Note on Research and Sources
- Selected Bibliography
- Index
- Photo Section
- About the Author
- Copyright
- About the Publisher