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Reviewed by Lynette Fowlston for Readers' Favorite
"Arsenic and Clam Chowder" recounts the life of Mary Alice Livingston. Born into a prestigious family, she is accused of murdering her mother, Evelina Bliss, for her inheritance. Mary Alice was a women obsessed with having money; she had been in and out of the courts before, trying to extort money from the fathers of her children. Never married, she had 3 children and a forth on the way. This was the problem between her and her mother. Women did not just have illegitimate children at that time. While this plot sounds like something out of a television crime story, this is actually based on a true event that took place in the year 1895-96.
The author, James Livingston, a descendant of the accused, utilized information handed down through the years by the family. Mary had her daughter and a friend take a pail of poisoned clam chowder to her mother. The main theme throughout the plot is: did Mary Alice Livingston poison her mother? The trial is quite interesting. Once the conclusion is reached and all evidence is produced, it leaves the reader wondering, did she or didn’t she.
There is a lot of detailed history throughout the book, newspaper wars, the advent of skyscrapers, the automobile, police corruption and much more. This all relates to the gilded age that Mary was raised in. If you are a reader who likes the true crime genre especially of that age then I feel you will find this book quite interesting; not only for the murder trial but the history of that time.
