Antebellum literature was all retiring women and timorous love, right? Wrong. In the 1840s and 1850s, two little-remembered publishers created a new genre about husband- or lover-murdering “female fiends.” The ghastly trend pushed against the romantic stereotypes of the nineteenth century—and, writes literary scholar Dawn Keetley, even anticipated future arguments about women’s rights, marriage, and love.
The “relatively unknown literary form” was mostly the work of publishers Erastsus Elmer Barclay and Arthur Orton, writes Keetley. Packed with sensational illustrations of beautiful women poised to kill, the books gripped readers in exchange for just a few pennies. Their titles, like Narrative and Confessions of Lucretia P. Cannon … Containing an Account of Some of the Most Horrible and Shocking Murders and Life and Confession of Ann Walters, the Female Murderess! promised thrills, chills, and plenty of drama.
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