Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast - Blue Ewe Media

Latest Episodes:

217: Mary Shelley's Frankenstein w/ Allison B. Kavey & Lester D. Friedman - A True Crime History Podcast Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

On this special Halloween-themed episode of Most Notorious, my guests - professors Lester Friedman and Allison Kavey - talk about Mary Shelley's early 19th-century literary classic, Frankenstein. They explore Shelley's creation of her timeless gothic novel and how her background and circumstances likely influenced her writing, offer some fascinating interpretations of the book's themes, and explain how the story has evolved into the one we're familiar with today.

Their book is called "Monstrous Progeny: A History of the Frankenstein Narratives".

https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/monstrous-progeny/9780813564258

https://www.hiram.edu/archives/lester-friedman-bio/

https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/faculty/allison-kavey

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216: Notorious Gamblers of the Old West w/ G.R. Williamson - A True Crime History Podcast Oct 14, 2021

Show notes

My guest, Western author and historian G.R. Williamson, appeared on Most Notorious a couple of years ago to talk about gunfighters Ben Thompson and King Fisher. He joins me again, this time to tell tales from his book "Notorious Gamblers of the Old West", which includes accounts of colorful card-playing characters like Charles Cora, Lottie Deno and Poker Alice. He also explains how the popular game Faro is played, what a period saloon really looked like, and offers a glimpse into the rough and occasionally rewarding life of a professional gambler in the Old West.

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215: The Great Chicago Fire w/ Carl Smith - A True Crime History Podcast Oct 06, 2021

Show notes

October 8th, 2021 marks the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, the legendary disaster that destroyed a third of Chicago and made 90,000 residents homeless. While Mrs. O'Leary and her cow are usually portrayed as the culprits behind the catastrophic blaze, my guest, Carl Smith, doesn't believe history has treated her fairly.

Professor Smith is the author of "Chicago’s Great Fire: The Destruction and Resurrection of an Iconic American City", and he shares on this episode of Most Notorious the fascinating details of the fire, including how it might have begun, how mistakes prevented the fire department from getting to it sooner, the devastation it left in its wake, and how the city ultimately overcame the fire's destruction to build anew.

More about the author and his work:

https://groveatlantic.com/book/chicagos-great-fire-2/

https://carlsmith.northwestern.edu/

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214: The Murder of William Cantilupe in Medieval England w/ Melissa Julian-Jones Sep 28, 2021

Show notes

We're back again to the Hundred Years War in this episode of Most Notorious - this time in England. Sir William Cantilupe, a battle-hardened knight who had recently been acquitted of murdering his brother Nicholas, was discovered dead in a lonely field in May of 1375, in what appeared to be a staged crime scene.

And it was his wife Maude and their household staff whom authorities would soon accuse of committing the horrific deed.

My guest is Melissa Julian-Jones, author of "Murder During the Hundred Year War: The Curious Case of William Cantilupe". She talks about the dark and dramatic family tale, and offers some theories on why William Cantilupe might have been targeted for murder.

Her blog: https://melissajulianjones.wordpress.com/

Her book https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Murder-During-the-Hundred-Years-War-Hardback/p/18027

Her class: Romancing the Gothic: https://romancingthegothic.com/

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213: The Stabbing of Henry Ballard by Amelia Norman w/ Julie Miller Sep 21, 2021

Show notes

On November 1st, 1843, a dejected servant named Amelia Norman followed her former beau Henry Ballard to the steps of the Astor House Hotel in New York City. There she stabbed him with a folding knife, barely missing his heart.

The city's newspapers and moral reformers quickly embraced Miss Norman's cause, seeing it as an opportunity to change seduction laws and expand workers' rights.

My guest, Julie Miller, is author of "Cry of Murder on Broadway: A Woman's Ruin and Revenge in Old New York". She offers insight into this sensational crime and its impact on the early days of the women's movement in the United States.

More information about her book can be found here: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501751486/cry-of-murder-on-broadway/

https://www.amazon.com/Cry-Murder-Broadway-Womans-Revenge/dp/B08K1PXBDX/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1631880970&sr=8-2

https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501751486/cry-of-murder-on-broadway/#bookTabs=1

George Washington's papers:

https://www.loc.gov/collections/george-washington-papers/about-this-collection/

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212: The Murder of Louis I in Medieval France w/ Eric Jager - A True Crime History Podcast Sep 15, 2021

Show notes

In November of 1407, Louis I, The Duke of Orleans and brother of France's "Mad" King Charles VI, is murdered on a street near his home in Medieval Paris. A police investigation ensues, surprisingly as thorough and detailed as any modern day crime investigation.

My guest, Eric Jager, is the author of "Blood Royal: A True Tale of Crime and Detection in Medieval Paris". Not only does he share details from his book, but he also talks about the upcoming film "The Last Duel", starring Matt Damon and Adam Driver, based on his book "The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat". If the title sounds familiar, it might be because he joined me to talk about the story a couple of years ago.

Listen once more to Most Notorious's The Last Duel episode with Eric Jager: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-last-duel-w-eric-jager-a-true-crime-history-podcast/id1055044256?i=1000437735258&l=sv

Watch "The Last Duel" Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgygUwPJvYk

More about Eric Jager here: https://english.ucla.edu/people-faculty/jager-eric/

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211: The East River Ripper Murder of Old Shakespeare w/ George R. Dekle Sr. - A True Crime History Podcast Sep 06, 2021

Show notes

On April 24th, 1891, a Bowery prostitute named Carrie Brown (known locally as "Old Shakespeare") was found murdered and mutilated in the seedy East River Hotel. With the Jack the Ripper murders unsolved and still news, many believed that the notorious killer had traveled across the Atlantic to continue his bloody work in the United States - and this was his first victim.

My guest is George R. Dekle Sr., former Florida prosecutor and author of the new book "The East River Ripper: The Mysterious 1891 Murder of Old Shakespeare". He talks about this sensational case, including the arrest and trial of the enigmatic Ameer Ben Ali, better known as "Frenchy", and offers his thoughts on who really murdered Carrie Brown.

More about the author and his work can be found here: https://www.bobdeklebooks.com/

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210: The George Weyerhaueser Kidnapping w/ Bryan Johnston - A True Crime History Podcast Aug 31, 2021

Show notes

On March 25, 1935, little George Weyerhaueser, heir to one of the biggest fortunes in America, was kidnapped on his way home from school in Tacoma, Washington. His abductors would keep him manacled in a pit in the middle of the forest as they negotiated a $200,000 ransom with his frantic family. What soon followed would be the largest manhunt in the history of the Pacific Northwest.

My guest is Bryant Johnston, author of "Deep in the Woods: The 1935 Kidnapping of Nine-Year-Old George Weyerhaeuser, Heir to America's Mightiest Timber Dynasty."

More information can be found on his website: https://www.bryanrjohnston.com/

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209: The Shipwreck of the William & Mary w/ Gill Hoffs - A True Crime History Podcast Aug 23, 2021

Show notes

In the spring of 1853 the ill-fated William and Mary, an American sailing ship captained by the incompetent Timothy Stinson, departed from England carrying over 200 Dutch, Scotch, Irish and English emigrants, all bound for New Orleans. The voyage was an absolute disaster, replete with illness, bad weather, starvation, a shipwreck, and ultimately the captain's betrayal - in the form of an attempted mass murder.

My guest, Gill Hoffs is an expert on Victorian-era shipwrecks, and she shares details from her book, "The Lost Story of the William and Mary: The Cowardice of Captain Stinson".

She can be found on Twitter @GillHoffs

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208: Tracing Your Criminal Ancestors w/ Stephen Wade - A True Crime History Podcast Aug 16, 2021

Show notes

Do you have a criminal from your family's past that you've always wanted to learn more about, but don't know where to start? On this special episode of Most Notorious, prolific British author Stephen Wade offers helpful tips on how to maneuver through what can be both a daunting and thrilling experience - digging up sordid details of long-lost villainous ancestors.

His book is called "Tracing Your Criminal Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians", and more information about him and his work can be found here: https://stephen-wade.com/

Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious

Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

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