Death in a Hansom Cab

by Kerry Segrave

This is the story about two lovers riding in a hansom cab in New York City on June 4 1904. A single shot rang out and Caesar Young was dead. Nan Patterson soon came to be charged with murder in the first degree. Three trials followed; three mistrials ensued. But the trials of the 21-year-old woman weren’t so much about establishing the “facts” about Young’s death as they were about persecuting a young woman. Editorials were often printing pointing out that Nan deserved to be punished, regardless of the Young death. In their view she needed to be punished for her so-called moral lapses. She committed adultery and she was a home wrecker, a charge not leveled at Young. She was an actor and they were held in low esteem, especially the females, who were all immoral. Also, she stayed out late and participated in champagne suppers.
The story is about appalling media coverage that alternated between publishing smear pieces about the young woman, and making up tales about interviews with Nan that had not happened. It is about a poor quality prosecution that consisted mainly of lies and fanciful, bizarre theories about the death of Young. It is about the state refusing to grant bail and to set speedy trial dates. The story of Nan Patterson is the story of the persecution of a young woman under the guise of prosecution.

Genres: True Crime

207 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 22, 2020

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the subject would be interesting but the writing style was just not that good. I agree with some of the other reviews about the story.

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free electronic ARC of this novel from Netgalley, Kerry Segrave, and BooksGoSocial.
Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this true crime story of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work.

Obviously a work of the heart, Death in a Hansom Cab is the retelling of the arrest and three trials of chorus girl and actress, Ann Elizabeth 'Nan' Patterson, for the murder of her married paramour, bookie and horse owner Frank Thomas 'Caesar' Young in 1904 New York City. Kerry Segrave presents us with all the known facts of this death, and the intricate dance steps performed by the prosecution during all three of the trials Nan went through before finally receiving her freedom from just short of a year in the Tombs, and the indignities and slander she was faced with in the press every day both before and after her release.

Both heavily researched and an interesting story, but Death in a Hansom Cab could have done with judicious editing. There were many redundancies and repetitions but it is a tale I am glad to have been exposed to.
pub date April 25, 2020
received May 26, 2020
BooksGoSocial
Reviewed on June 24, 2020, at Goodreads, Netgalley, AmazonSmile, and Barnes&Noble. Not available for review on BookBub, Kobo, or GooglePlay.

[Melisende · Rating 2 out of 5]

The topic and sensationalism of the crime and trials that followed should have made for an interesting book. Should have being the operative word. Unfortunately, the author relied solely upon newspaper articles - sensationalised, most often incorrect, and most definitely not a source to rely upon for context and information. Were any trial transcripts or other source documents available?? I don't know - a google search only throws up newspaper items. However, as a reader, one would expect trial notes to be available and used - afterall, there were three trials and subject matter took up much newsprint at the time.

I would have liked to be able to compare this work with "The Nan Patterson Case" by Newman Levy (unfortunately don't have a copy of that one) to see what sources were used and available for that tome.

For what it was, it was an okay book that at least showed how public perception of a victim and alleged perpetrator can sway public opinion either for or against despite the evidence at hand.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

My interest was piqued by the title and concept, as I love true crime, especially cases I don’t know a ton about. But while the story surrounding the case was fascinating, what sort all the press surrounding the accused, I didn’t care much for the writing style, It feels very matter-of-fact and somewhat stilted, whereas I like when nonfiction history books can really give me a sense of the environment and what the people may have been like,

[Pam Devine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is obviously a labour of love for the author but it is rather repetitive in its writing. The outline of the book at the start gives away the whole of the storyline - I know it's a real-life case but storyline is the best word I can come up with. Reading about historical crime interests me however the way in which this book was written had me glazing over and I had to force myself to finish it.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting premise for a book.
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2020
This was an interesting story from long ago. Unfortunately, it was a bit too repetitious and redundant throughout that made the book seem a lot longer than it was. I received a copy from NetGalley and the publisher and this is my honest opinion

[Kat M · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a really interesting case, i liked how the author built the story and you could tell that it was well-researched. i'm glad I was able to read this as i love true crime and hadn't heard of this case before.

[Adelaide McIntyre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I keep forgetting that, while I love true crime, books like these are hard to get though. Not a quick read, but if you have extra time, read this!

[CrabbyPatty · Rating 2 out of 5]

In 1904, horsing racing entreprenaur Caesar Young was shot during a hansom cab ride. The other only occupant was Nan Patterson, a chorus girl who had been involved with the married Young for a few years. After three trials, no criminal crimes were leveled against Patterson and there was no answer to what happened in that hansom cab.

On the surface, this true crime story captured my interest ..... but I quickly grew frustrated by the author's writing style of presenting newspaper reports without any intrepretation or context. We get the same details over and over again (and are often told the accounts are not accurate) but there is little in the way of background on Young or Patterson, or the nature of their relationship. There are bits of information scattered throughout but nothing developed out of the unclear facts of the case.

If the author's intent is to comment on how journalists portrayed Nan Patterson - as a homewrecker, as a sly seductress, as an unintelligent untalented actress - again, there is no intrepretation of the various accounts and no overlying theory of the crime or of Patterson's character.

This book was very frustrating to me, and I cannot recommend it. 2 stars.

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

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