The Murder of the Century

The Gilded Age Crime That Scandalized a City & Sparked the Tabloid Wars

By: Paul Collins

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

In Long Island, a farmer found a duck pond turned red with blood. On the Lower East Side, two boys playing at a pier discovered a floating human torso wrapped tightly in oilcloth. Blueberry pickers near Harlem stumbled upon neatly severed limbs in an overgrown ditch. Clues to a horrifying crime were turning up all over New York, but the police were baffled: There were no witnesses, no motives, no suspects.

The grisly finds that began on the afternoon of June 26, 1897, plunged detectives headlong into the era's most perplexing murder. Seized upon by battling media moguls Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst, the case became a publicity circus. Re-creations of the murder were staged in Times Square, armed reporters lurked in the streets of Hell's Kitchen in pursuit of suspects, and an unlikely trio - an anxious cop, a cub reporter, and an eccentric professor - all raced to solve the crime. What emerged was a sensational love triangle and an even more sensational trial: an unprecedented capital case hinging on circumstantial evidence around a victim that the police couldn't identify with certainty - and that the defense claimed wasn't even dead.

The Murder of the Century is a rollicking tale - a rich evocation of America during the Gilded Age and a colorful re-creation of the tabloid wars that have dominated media to this day.

©2011 Paul Collins (P)2011 AudioGo

Critic reviews

“Wonderfully rich in period detail, salacious facts about the case and infectious wonder at the chutzpah and inventiveness displayed by Pulitzer’s and Hearst’s minions. Both a gripping true-crime narrative and an astonishing portrait of fin de siecle yellow journalism.” ( Kirkus Reviews)

"A dismembered corpse and rival newspapers squabbling for headlines fuel Collins’s intriguing look at the birth of 'yellow journalism' in late 19th-century New York. [A]n in-depth account of the exponential growth of lurid news and the public’s (continuing) insatiable appetite for it." ( Publishers Weekly)

Terrific True Crime Book

What made the experience of listening to The Murder of the Century the most enjoyable?

The narrator was excellent. The story was fascinating.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The feeling of the time and place the writing gave. Hearing the account of how newspapers operated at the beginning of the century was engrossing. The tabloid wars was something I knew little about. New perspective now on Citizen Kane.

What about William Dufris’s performance did you like?

That I did not notice him much. He did enough when he was doing dialogue to bring characters to life but not too much.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Moved...no really.

written well, nice change for me

one of my first true crime books, was very pleased with this. Well written, not over done in any one area.

Solid insight of a past event

Would you listen to The Murder of the Century again? Why?

Possibly. If I read more on the trial covered in the story from other sources.

Which scene was your favorite?

Just generally the scenes of the accused in prison and the way they reconciled their infamy!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

My 15 minutes of fame due to the media!

Any additional comments?

Worth a listen. Leaves you with the sense that the media has always been ridiculous and makes heros of the wrong sort. The real news goes unnoticed.

Couldn't get enough!

This is history but not the kind I learned in school. A murder, gruesome but not more so than others of the day, became a source of competition between the newspapers of Joseph Pulitzer and Randolph Hearst. The book is filled with juicy details and we are filled in on the stories of all players. Excellent. I hope more of Collins' books make it here.

Good story and great history

An interesting slice of history - not only for the storyline itself but that it helps put today's behavior of the press into perspective. Reading stories like this one, it isn't people that have changed but the technology at their disposal.

interesting, but too long and slow

.The book offered a very creative story, an unusual angle (that of rival newspapers seeking headlines), and it provided an education into how a murder investigation was conducted during the gilded age. However, it was long and slow at times. I was a little disappointed in the actual storytelling, but I would listen to another book by this author.

Very entertaining!

What did you love best about The Murder of the Century?

Fasinating story and characters; amazing how well they did with investigations with very little tools in the day.

Hearst, Pulitzer and the Headless Body Trial

Sometimes it is good to be reminded there really never were any good old days, that crime is not worse now, and the way the press covers it is not a whit more irresponsible or sensationalized than it used to be.
This in-depth, well-researched book provides a glimpse into New York City's past, and both the murder case and the newspaper rivalry were fascinating subjects.

Well worth the credit!

A very "listenable" book, factual, but well presented, interesting and captivating. A fascinating history of a short period in journalism - perfectly read!

A rare treat for history/mystery fans

After recently reviewing Fever by Mary Beth Keane, I knew I had to go back to my library and pull this one out as well. If I'd written this review first, though, I would have only given Fever 4 stars because, if I'm grading on a curve, The Murder of the Century gets the definite edge.

Not because Fever is any less well-researched and written, or any less well-narrated, but because Collins just had so much more to work with here in terms of a story.

That being said, if you're trying to decide about this book, I would say you should probably consider it to be-- first and foremost--an historical account, with the deliciously gruesome murder mystery (in all its tabloid splendor) being more of a bonus than the main draw.

In other words, if you read a lot of non-fiction and history, but mysteries (especially police/detective procedurals) are your guilty fiction pleasure, you need to stop reading and start downloading this sucker right now, because, trust me-- this is right up your alley.
Or if you have any connection to, and/or love for old-school newspaper journalism, you'll want to strongly consider this as well, not only because the paper wars play such a strong role in the story, but also because it was the scrappy investigative reporters--rather than the already bureaucracy-bloated NYPD--who ultimately solved the crime.
And for those of you who are too young to have even studied the history of New York's newspapers, it's hard not to appreciate the parallels between the old paper wars and today's digital wars...(think Nick Denton v. Arianna Huffington).

On the other hand, if you love mysteries and true crime but don't have the patience for arcane details and long digressions (as in, Can you please stop talking about Hearst and Pulitzer and get back to the plot already?), you might want to read through the one- and two- star reviews before you put this in your cart, because there definitely IS a lot of background woven into the storyline. (It may be billed as a page-turning mystery, but it's really much more than that, so if you're looking for a plot-driven thriller to keep you awake on that 10-hour overnight drive--this is probably not it!)

But--for me at least--this book has it all: a CSI (Scrappy Reporter's Unit) --worthy plot, boldfaced names, and 19th century New York City. Not to mention a cold-hearted femme fatale and the men who loved her--or at least pretended to. (TEASER!!)

And I have to say William Dufris's narration is pitch-perfect--with just enough of that old-timey trans-continental inflection to make if feel authentic, but never hokey or over-the-top. His diction and pitch was distinctive enough for each character to be able to tell them apart in dialogue without being distracting, and, as far as I can recall, there was no annoying/ amateurish falsetto for the female characters. With what appears over 300 titles under his belt, I think it's safe to say this dude's a pro.
(I always feel a little bad when I mention the narrator as an afterthought, but it's actually the highest praise, since the best narrators are the ones who are able to become so infused into the story that you virtually forget they're a separate element.)

In any case, if you liked Fever, you'll probably like this too--and visa-versa.