- Paperback: 239 pages
- Publisher: Key Porter Books (April 16 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1552633772
- ISBN-13: 978-1552633779
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15.2 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,643,848 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Amazon
The concept of le crime passionnel originated in France, where Article 324, line 2, of the penal code excuses a husband who kills his wife or her lover after discovering them in flagrante delicto. (Never mind that a wife who discovers and kills her husband has no such protection under the law.) Although such a motive is a legal consideration only in France, crimes of love--"where passion drives one or more of the people involved first to a deadlock and then to a deadly conclusion"--are rarely treated as common homicides. "It isn't exactly murder, but it isn't manslaughter, either," writes Howard Engel in his morbidly fascinating history, Crimes of Passion. The book explores the legends and legal cases of murderous love, spanning numerous centuries and countries including Canada, the United States, France, England, and New Zealand. It features such celebrated cases as Ruth Ellis (the last woman to hang in England), Jean Harris (who killed Dr. Tarnower, creator of the Scarsdale Medical Diet), Lizzie Borden, O.J. Simpson, Yvonne Chevalier (who killed her war-hero husband in Orleans, France), and Edith Thompson and Frederick Bywaters, among others. Engel takes a socio-historical approach to the material, offering readers not only the fascinating and strange details of these crimes, but an opportunity to consider how the study of a particular case allows us to examine the behaviour of the perpetrators and victims, and the psychology of the surrounding society as well. He seems to prove that, ultimately, crimes of passion cannot be pigeonholed; the best we can do to understand them is "to glimpse the passion that brought them about." --Svenja Soldovieri
--This text refers to an alternate
Paperback
edition.
From Library Journal
Engel (Lord High Executioner: An Unashamed Look at Hangmen, Headsmen and Their Kind), who is also a mystery writer and winner of the Arthur Ellis Award for Crime Fiction, here presents a topic that comes straight from today's tabloid headlines but also crosses time. From the 1849 trial of Frederick and Marie Manning for the murder of Marie's lover, Patrick O'Connor, to O.J. Simpson's trial in 1994, Engel introduces the reader to the often-unresolved cases, and both the victims and the perpetrators, of what the French call le crime passionnel. Engel asks questions about the nature of this type of crime: Can it be premeditated? Can it involve revenge? Should it have a special place in legal codes (as is the case in France)? Thirty different cases from North America and Western Europe are included in this sampler, each with different outcomes, surprises, and reactions from the general public. A six-page bibliography of books, articles, and web sites is included. Recommended for public libraries with a clientele interested in true crime. Sarah Jent, Univ. of Louisville Lib.,
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
From media reactions to social and legal issues,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Crimes of Passion: An Unblinking Look at Murderous Love (Paperback)
In Crimes Of Passion, Howrd Engel examines crimes of passion and criminal law throughout history, considering the origins of the concept of a crime based on passion, and exploring over twenty classic, infamous and still unresolved cases. From media reactions to social and legal issues raised by these crimes, Crimes Of Passion makes for an intriguing coverage.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (1 customer review) 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
From media reactions to social and legal issues,
By Midwest Book Review - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Crimes of Passion: An Unblinking Look at Murderous Love (Paperback)
In Crimes Of Passion, Howrd Engel examines crimes of passion and criminal law throughout history, considering the origins of the concept of a crime based on passion, and exploring over twenty classic, infamous and still unresolved cases. From media reactions to social and legal issues raised by these crimes, Crimes Of Passion makes for an intriguing coverage.
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