The story of one of the vilest murders in Canadian history.One glorious autumn day in 1894, a drifter attacked thirteen-year-old Jessie Keith so violently that people thought Jack the Ripper must be loose in rural Ontario. To solve the crime, the government called in Detective John Wilson Murray, the true-life model for Detective William Murdoch of the popular TV series Murdoch Mysteries. His prime clue was a black valise.The Man with the Black Valise traces the killer’s trajectory through three counties, a route that today connects travellers to poignant reminders of nineteenth-century life. Chief among them stands the statue of the Roman Goddess of Flora, gesturing as though to cast roses onto Jessie’s grave.
John Goddard is an author, magazine writer, and former Toronto Star reporter. His books include Inside the Museums: Toronto’s Heritage Sites and Their Most Prized Objects and Rock and Roll Toronto, with pop critic Richard Crouse. John lives in Toronto.
PART ONE: Death in the Swampy Wood1. Isabella McLeod’s Black Valise2. Joseph Hall’s Well3. A Change of Mood4. The Swampy Wood5. Suspicion Focuses on One Man6. The Burial7. A Star-Crossed Life8. Manhunt9. “I Expected It”10. A Shower of Silver11. The Legal Talent12. The Celebrity Sleuth13. The Interrogation14. The Coroner’s Inquest15. Confessions16. On Trial for Murder 17. The Insanity Question18. Ropes and Pulleys 19. Two Autopsies20. The HealingPART TWO: Chattelle’s Route Then and Now21. The Goddess of Flowers and Springtime22 Ailsa Craig: Teenage Hero23 Lucan: Mass Murder of the Black Donnellys24 St. Marys: Amédée Chattelle Goes Shopping25 Fryfogel’s Tavern: Perth County’s First Settler26 Baden: The Flax Kings27 Stratford: The Prisoner’s Dock28 Stratford: The Coroner’s Saddest Inquest 29 Stratford: Death by Fire 30 Stratford: The Rape and Murder of Mary Peake 31 Stratford: Death at Dorothy’s Delicatessen 32 Millbank: Kitchen Table Clairvoyant33 Listowel: The Jessie Keith Memorial Tour34 The End of the LineAcknowledgementsBibliography Image Credits Index
A tragic and dark story both fascinating and enlightening. Highly recommended.
John Goddard, John O. S. Wilson, Bangor University) Goddard, John (Professor of Financial Economics, University of St Andrews) Wilson, John O. S. (Professor John O.S. Wilson, Professor of Banking & Finance, School of Management, John (Professor of Financial... Goddard, John O S Wilson
Philip McCann, Frank van Oort, John Goddard, the Netherlands) McCann, Philip (University of Groningen, the Netherlands) van Oort, Frank (Erasmus University, Frank Van Oort, Philip Mccann, Frank van Oort
Philip McCann, Frank van Oort, John Goddard, the Netherlands) McCann, Philip (University of Groningen, the Netherlands) van Oort, Frank (Erasmus University, Frank Van Oort, Philip Mccann, Frank van Oort