{"product_id":"devils-rooming-house-9781493050123","title":"Devils Rooming House","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Devil’s Rooming House\u003c\/i\u003e is the first book about the life, times, and crimes of America’s most prolific female serial killer. In telling this fascinating story, M. William Phelps also paints a vivid portrait of early-twentieth-century New England.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Amy Archer-Gilligan—Sister Amy, she was called—was a murderess well-enough known to be cited as an inspiration for the Joseph Kesselring's perennial grim farce, \u003ci\u003eArsenic and Old Lace\u003c\/i\u003e…. Amy's sensational trial attracted great interest, and Phelps wraps the whole dirty business in a delightfully cozy narrative. A genteel true-crime excursion.” — Mike Tribby,\u003ci\u003e Booklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Lizzie Bordon became famous for probably murdering her stepmother and father in turn-of-the-century New England. But a lesser known contemporary, Amy Archer-Gilligan, is much more interesting. Amy dispatched two husbands and possibly as many as 66 others in a fashion reminiscent of ‘Arsenic and Old Lace,' a Broadway play that was loosely based on her case…. In his new book, M. William Phelps, tells the shocking, true story of this Victorian murderess in fascinating detail…. Mr. Phelps — who Radio America calls ‘the nation's leading authority on the mind of the female murderer' — conducted extensive interviews and sifted through official trial transcripts and newspaper files to bring readers face-to-face with the matron of what the media of the day billed as a ‘murder factory.' —Larry Cox \/ Special to \u003ci\u003eFlorida\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“To recreate the early 20th century killing spree which took place primarily in Connecticut's “Archer Home for Elderly People and Chronic Invalids” (the inspiration for Joseph Kesselring's play \u003ci\u003eArsenic and Old Lace\u003c\/i\u003e), Phelps amasses an abundance of research to complement his already-extant authority on female murderers (the author of \u003ci\u003ePerfect Poison: A Female Serial Killer's Deadly Medicine\u003c\/i\u003e, Phelps has also consulted on serial killer TV drama \u003ci\u003eDexter\u003c\/i\u003e).... Phelps' diligent research creates a vivid portrait of the country a century ago…. —\u003ci\u003eP\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e“On May 9, 1916, \u003ci\u003eHartford Courant\u003c\/i\u003e readers learned that the Archer Home for Elderly People and Chronic Invalids in Windsor, Conn., run by a woman many considered saintly, had produced an unusual number of corpses. Sixty-six people had died over eight years, during which Mrs. Archer-Gilligan had purchased large quantities of arsenic for her rodent problem. Several “inmates,” as she called them, had paid her $1,000 for lifetime care. Some had signed over all their savings before vacating their beds, which were eagerly sought by new applicants…. M. William Phelps reports on an expanding cast of characters and unfolds his sensational history like a Victorian storyteller to entertain as much as to inform…. Phelps gives us the full panorama of a unique time and place in history.” —\u003cb\u003eAnne Grant \/ \u003c\/b\u003eSpecial to the \u003ci\u003eProvidence\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Globe Pequot","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50515868877143,"sku":"9781493050123","price":13.49,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781493050123.jpg?v=1745428112","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/devils-rooming-house-9781493050123","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}