Lost Love: A True Story of Passion, Murder and Justice in Old New York
In 1869 America was recovering from the devastation of the Civil War. But a love story and its violent outcome in New York upstaged all else in newspapers across the country. Abby Sage, a beautiful actress, suffered through and finally escaped from an abusive marriage when her jealous ex-husband murdered her alleged lover – acclaimed Civil War journalist Albert Deane Richardson in the lobby of the New York Tribune. The ensuing trial captivated the imagination of America and began a fiery debate about the sanctity of marriage and the rights of women.
Lost Love brings this celebrated but forgotten case to life. With the eye of a journalist and the heart of a novelist, George Cooper weaves newspaper accounts, trial transcripts, period illustrations, and letters written by the lovers into an irresistible narrative.
Amply illustrated.
“Cooper tells this story skillfully, weaving together courtroom testimony with press reports, letters and news dispatches. He keeps a quiet, consistent focus on the sad human drama at the heart of the scandal.” — Allen Boyer, The New York Times Book Review
“vivid personalities become the basis of a near-operatic, true-life tale… handled with Victorian delicacy.” — Herbert Mitgang, The New York Times (Daily Review)
“History at its best — dramatic, riveting, and heart-rending.” — Doris Kearns Goodwin
Signed copies available at Books & Books @ The Studios of Key West