Alchemy of Bones: Chicago's Luetgert Murder Case of 1897

On May 1, 1897, Louise Luetgert disappeared. Although no body was found, Chicago police arrested her husband, Adolph, the owner of a large sausage factory, and charged him with her murder. The eyes of the world were still on Chicago following the success of the World's Columbian Exposition, and the Luetgert case, with its missing victim, once-prosperous suspect, and all manner of gruesome theories regarding the disposal of the corpse, turned into one of the first media-fueled celebrity trials in American history.Newspapers fought one another for scoops, people across the country claimed to have seen the missing woman alive, and each new clue led to fresh rounds of speculation about the crime. Meanwhile, sausage sales plummeted nationwide as rumors circulated that Luetgert had destroyed his wife's body in one of his factory's meat grinders.In this narrative history of the Luetgert case, Robert Loerzel brings 1890s Chicago vividly back to life. He examines not only the trial itself but also the police department and forensic specialists investigating the case, the reporters scrambling for details, and the wider society who followed their stories so voraciously.Weaving in strange-but-true subplots involving hypnotists, palmreaders, English con-artists, bullied witnesses, and insane-asylum body-snatchers, Alchemy of Bones is more than just a true crime narrative; it is a grand, sprawling portrait of a city--and a nation--getting an early taste of the dark, chaotic twentieth century.

History

Loerzel, Robert

Americas

University of Illinois Press

Get to Know the Illinois City's Most Vibrant and Historic Neighborhoods Grab your walking shoes, and become an urban adventurer. Chicagophile Robert Loerzel leads you on 35 unique walking tours in this comprehensive guidebook. Go beyond the obvious with self-guided tours through one of the nation's most walkable cities, which is equal parts glamour and grit. Chicago's diverse neighborhoods represent a melting pot--from Little Italy to Greektown, Pilsen to Ukrainian Village. With this guide in hand, you'll soak up history, political gossip, and architectural trivia. Find ethnic culture in Andersonville or high culture at the Art Institute. Listen to the blues on the South Side, or catch a ballgame on the North Side. Marvel at the Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in Oak Park or at nature's masterpiece along Lake Michigan. There are tips on the best cafes, bars, and night spots. With humorous anecdotes, surprising stories, and fun facts to share with others, this guidebook has it all. Book Features <ul> <li>35 self-guided tours through the Windy City</li> <li>More than 20 miles of stunning shoreline along Lake Michigan</li> <li>Fun facts and unknown stories to share with others</li> </ul> Whether you're looking for a walk on the beach or a slice of deep dish pizza,Walking Chicago will get you there. So find a route that appeals to you, and walk Chicago!

Walking Chicago: 35 Tours of the Windy City's Dynamic Neighborhoods and Famous Lakeshore

Sports & Outdoors

Hiking & Camping

Wilderness Press

Forest Park, Illinois is home to four major cemeteries and has been the final resting place for both the famous and not-so-famous since the early 1870s. The village was once recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records for its ratio of over thirty dead to every live resident.Notable permanent residents of Forest Park’s hallowed grounds include the parents of Ernest Hemingway; serial killer Belle Gunness; Emma Goldman and other important members of the anarchist movement; evangelist Billy Sunday; Elizabeth Taylor’s husband Mike Todd; as well as victims of the Eastland disaster, the Iroquois Theater fire, and the Hagenbeck-Wallace circus train wreck. Inspired by Edgar Lee Masters’s classic 1915 work, Spoon River Anthology, the Historical Society of Forest Park invited local authors, playwrights, journalists, and historians to pen individual narratives of those buried within Forest Park, in the style of the original work. Jay Bonansinga, a New York Times bestselling author (The Walking Dead); noted local historians Robert Loerzel and Richard Lindberg; Chicago-area novelists Michael A. Black, Frances McNamara, and Stephanie Kuehnert; and playwright Amy Binns-Calvey are just a few of those whose work is included in this volume.

Des Plaines River Anthology

Literature & Fiction

Elder, Robert K.

McNamara, Frances

Lindberg, Richard

Bonansinga, Jay

BERNSTEIN, ARNIE

Kuehnert, Stephanie

Black, Michael A.

Pirrone, D. M.

Atwood, Kathryn

Poetry

Allium Press of Chicago

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