Never Seen the Moon: The Trials of Edith Maxwell

by Sharon Hatfield

Never Seen the Moon carefully yet lucidly recreates a young woman's wild ride through the American legal system. In 1935, free-spirited young teacher Edith Maxwell and her mother were indicted for murdering Edith's conservative and domineering father, Trigg, late one July night in their Wise County, Virginia, home. Edith claimed her father had tried to whip her for staying out late. She said that she had defended herself by striking back with a high-heeled shoe, thus earning herself the sobriquet "slipper slayer."

Immediately granted celebrity status by the powerful Hearst press, Maxwell was also championed as a martyr by advocates of women's causes. National news magazines and even detective magazines picked up her story, Warner Brothers created a screen version, and Eleanor Roosevelt helped secure her early release from prison. Sharon Hatfield's brilliant telling of this true-crime story transforms a dusty piece of history into a vibrant thriller. Throughout the narrative, she discusses yellow journalism, the inequities of the jury system, class and gender tensions in a developing region, and a woman's right to defend herself from family violence.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 13, 2005

Reviews

[Lisa Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hatfield thoroughly plumbs the depths of this historical case of Appalachian violence and justice, providing newspaper evidence and critiquing the agendas of the media companies to provide a summary and analysis of the full context of Edith maxwell’s young adulthood. Along the way, Hatfield connects one American woman’s life to first-wave feminism’s stalled progress around the country.

[Scooter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. Like many, I assumed this would center on a crime and the trial that ensued, but I was pleasantly surprised with the scope of the book.

Sharon Hatfield is a capital J journalist. As she mentions early on in the story, nobody will ever truly know what happened that fateful night, but you get the sense through the entire story that she does. The way she recreates images and emotions is remarkably well done in this novel. It’s fair to say that the reader comes away feeling like they knew Edith, among other protagonists.

Really what makes this book such an important read is the sociological examination provided by the author. For those of us with Appalachian heritage, the way she throughly debunks the lazy trope of backwards, hillbilly coal miners affirms our current-day identity. Pound was not a backwater, even if that is what crossed the sensationalized headings of large newspapers in large cities. We learn that the title, “Never Seen the Moon,” is also one of those old tales that can no longer serve to hold back the natives of Southwestern Virginia: it was simply not true.

This book is entertaining from beginning to end, covering the trials, the rise and fall of a family, and a reckoning of how we cover flashy stories in unfamiliar territory. I’d highly recommend for anyone who’s looking for a viewpoint on an interesting moment in our country’s history.

[Alvin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met Ms. Hatfield in Hindman this summer. An amazing tale of a "forgotten" "trial of the century"... It has many important elements of our time, justice for women, the media's impact on the courts, Appalachian stereotypes... Very intriguing, like a good mystery novel -- but all true. It took place in Pound, Va., just across the stateline from Letcher County.

[Big H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Neither what I expected or wanted. I assumed this would be mostly about the crime itself with only a summary of life before, the court case and after, but this book is approximately five pages of crime/pre-life/life after and approximately 300 pages about the trials about the crime. Long, boring and dry.

[Brackman1066]

I saw this author read on my campus on Feb. 25th, and thought the book sounded really interesting. I bought a copy and I'll let you all know what I think

[Jennifer Westall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, and very informative.