Murder and Madness [electronic resource] : The Myth of the Kentucky Tragedy /
Schoenbachler, Matthew G.,1967-
Lexington, Ky. : University Press of Kentucky,
c2009.
The ""Kentucky Tragedy"" was early America's best known true crime story. In 1825, Jereboam O. Beauchamp assassinated Kentucky attorney general Solomon P. Sharp. The murder, trial, conviction, and execution of the killer, as well as the suicide of his wife, Anna Cooke Beauchamp -- fascinated Americans. The episode became the basis of dozens of novels and plays composed by some of the country's most esteemed literary talents, among them Edgar Allan Poe and William Gilmore Simms. In Murder and Madness, Matthew G. Schoenbachler peels away two centuries of myth to provide a more accurate accoun
Description based upon print version of record.
The ""Kentucky Tragedy"" was early America's best known true crime story. In 1825, Jereboam O. Beauchamp assassinated Kentucky attorney general Solomon P. Sharp. The murder, trial, conviction, and execution of the killer, as well as the suicide of his wife, Anna Cooke Beauchamp -- fascinated Americans. The episode became the basis of dozens of novels and plays composed by some of the country's most esteemed literary talents, among them Edgar Allan Poe and William Gilmore Simms. In Murder and Madness, Matthew G. Schoenbachler peels away two centuries of myth to provide a more accurate accoun
Includes bibliographical references and index.
The architect of his own fortunes: Solomon Porcius Sharp -- The diminutive fury: Anna Cooke -- Romance and delusion: Jereboam Beauchamp -- Politics -- Murder -- The politics of murder -- The trial -- Prison and execution -- Memory and the invention of a tragedy -- The Kentucky tragedy.
Description based on print version record.
Beauchamp, Ann, 1786-1826.
Beauchamp, Jereboam O., 1802-1826.
Sharp, Solomon P., 1780-1825.
Murder