We Keep the Dead Close

A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence

De: Becky Cooper

Narrado por: Becky Cooper

A Recommended Book from: New York Times * Publisher's Weekly * Kirkus * BookRiot * Booklist * Boston Globe * Goodreads * Town & Country * Refinery29 * CrimeReads * Glamour

Dive into a "tour de force of investigative reporting" (Ron Chernow): a "searching, atmospheric and ultimately entrancing" (Patrick Radden Keefe) true crime narrative of an unsolved 1969 murder at Harvard and an "exhilarating and seductive" (Ariel Levy) narrative of obsession and love for a girl who dreamt of rising among men.
You have to remember, he reminded me, that Harvard is older than the U.S. government. You have to remember because Harvard doesn't let you forget.

1969: the height of counterculture and the year universities would seek to curb the unruly spectacle of student protest; the winter that Harvard University would begin the tumultuous process of merging with Radcliffe, its all-female sister school; and the year that Jane Britton, an ambitious twenty-three-year-old graduate student in Harvard's Anthropology Department and daughter of Radcliffe Vice President J. Boyd Britton, would be found bludgeoned to death in her Cambridge, Massachusetts apartment. Forty years later, Becky Cooper a curious undergrad, will hear the first whispers of the story. In the first telling the body was nameless. The story was this: a Harvard student had had an affair with her professor, and the professor had murdered her in the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology because she'd threatened to talk about the affair. Though the rumor proves false, the story that unfolds, one that Cooper will follow for ten years, is even more complex: a tale of gender inequality in academia, a 'cowboy culture' among empowered male elites, the silencing effect of institutions, and our compulsion to rewrite the stories of female victims. We Keep the Dead Close is a memoir of mirrors, misogyny, and murder. It is at once a rumination on the violence and oppression that rules our revered institutions, a ghost story reflecting one young woman's past onto another's present, and a love story for a girl who was lost to history.

*Special audiobook bonus PDF includes photos and source notes*

Reseñas de la Crítica

"We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper is a brilliantly idiosyncratic variant of generic true crime, rather more a memoir than a conventional work of reportage, so structured that the revelation of the murderer is not the conclusion or even the most important feature of the book. . . [A] beautifully composed elegy."—Joyce Carol Oates, New York Review of Books

"As an undergraduate at Harvard, Cooper became obsessed with the unsolved murder of Jane Britton, an anthropology student there, in 1969. As Cooper was digging, new D.N.A. analysis eventually identified a suspect, but the real thrills of the story are the twists and turns that kept the killing a mystery for decades."—New York Times

“Becky Cooper’s WE KEEP THE DEAD CLOSE is an impressively granular investigation of this shocking and perplexing case…Cooper should be lauded for her investigative abilities — there is no question that she has earned her spot among the ranks of detectives and reporters who have spent decades obsessed with the Britton case…It’s in discussing the misogyny of academia and the politics of Harvard that Cooper shines the brightest…[WE KEEP THE DEAD CLOSE is] a meditation on academia, womanhood and the power of storytelling.”—Washington Post

"While projecting her own life onto Britton’s, Cooper weighs the responsibility to accurately narrate the past: 'Is it ever justifiable, I wondered, to trap someone in a story that robs them of their truth, but voices someone else’s?'"—The New Yorker

"Searching, atmospheric and ultimately entrancing, We Keep the Dead Close is a vivid account of a notorious murder at Harvard that had remained unsolved for fifty years, and a meditation on the stories that we tell ourselves about violence. Cooper is a methodical, obsessive and very companionable sleuth, who ushers us through the many twists and turns in her own investigation until she arrives at a solution. In a deft touch, she interrogates not just the evidence, witnesses and suspects, but her own biases and assumptions, as well."—Patrick Radden Keefe, New York Times bestselling author of Say Nothing

"I defy any reader to resist the hypnotic power of this Harvard whodunit. In a tour de force of investigative reporting, Becky Cooper guides us through a maze of academic politics and personal intrigue, her sleuthing laced with uncommon sensitivity and insight. Even as it engages us emotionally, this stirring narrative, with its heart-stopping finale, forces us to ponder the very nature of historical truth. A stunning achievement."—Ron Chernow, Pulitzer Prize-winning author

wow. this is so good on so many levels.

this is by far my favorite audio book to date. it has the great draw of true crime without the hokey annoying parts that exist in those podcasts. it is an incredibly interesting biography diving into life in the 60s, sexism in academia and a study of archeology. love the author/ narrator and I don't know what she will write about next but I would love to read or listen.

Not a Typical True Crime Story

While there are all the elements of many true crime stories: a vulnerable person, an unexplained murder with baffling evidence and an eventual resolution, this is not your typical true crime story. This is an ethnography of life at Harvard, the study of archaeology there, and a precise and cataloged “dig” into the life and death of Jane Britton. The author painstakingly describes, reviews, and considers every possible aspect. Unlike many true crime stories the author has not decided for us how we should see this murder. The author also reads her own work. It takes a while to get used to her staccato delivery, but eventually she does breathe life into the reading.

Loved this story

This story was eerily close to home to me since I was scheduled to go to Radcliffe when I graduated from high school in 1971 to study anthropology, but went to McGill in Montreal instead. Whew. I was fascinated to hear this story unfold, and especially the analysis of the toxic atmosphere at Harvard, especially for the women at Radcliffe. The dynamics of these two schools was very interesting! Part mystery, part true crime, part non fiction, I highly recommend reading this book for anyone.

If you want quick and shallow, this isn't it.

First I need to say that I found Becky Cooper's narration perfect for the reading of her own words. There were no mispronunciations that I heard, and to the person or persons who disliked the way the name of the Peabody Museum was spoken, let me be the first to say that it's pronounced correctly. Ms. Cooper is a Harvard grad: she ought to know.

This fascinating, scholarly work is unlike any other true-crime piece I've ever read. Ms. Cooper didn't just set out to solve a murder-- or maybe she did--but as she discovered new themes, she presented them, footnotes, photos and all, giving us not only a solution to a mystery, but a portrait of institutions in their time that were as causal as any personal reality was.

After all that I should probably mention that it all adds up to a great, suspenseful read/listen. I'm actually glad I listened instead of reading the print version. Ms. Coopers voice and enthusiasm kept my interest better than my reading would have.

Bottom line--if you want a quick solution to a true-crime sensation, you know who writes those. This is different.

Captivating!

As is often the case I want to hear it again and again and again.

I wish I could record my reaction to conclusion

I genuinely wish I could have recorded my reaction to the conclusion of this book. There were goosebumps, lots of cussing (in a very surprised good way), jaw on the ground, and complete and utter shock. There was a moment, when I thought, details are good but I think she’s gone overboard. HOWEVER, the end I knew how and why, the sometimes painful details all paid off!!! She was relentless in her research and she deserves all the accolades for it. What a masterpiece. I have read all the genres and especially true crime. This is the gold standard. Bravo. Get this book. If there’s ever a moment you think it’s dragging, keep going I PROMISE this pays in full.

Brilliant

I loved everything about this story! Wonderful writing and narration by the author! Looking forward to more of her incredible talent.

Wow!

Absolutely fucking fantastic—this is what true crime should be. Becky Cooper knows how to tell the story.

Rethinking True Crine

We Keep the Dead Close redefines true crime. Cooper’s determination to honor Jane Britton’s short life brings respect, scholarship and sobriety to the genre. The careful examination of Britton’s murder does cover every detail of the crime and investigation, but also considers the psychological and social aspects of how we view victims. You never lose sight of the fact that Jane Britton was very much a living, breathing human and all the complications her humanity entails.
We Keep the Dead close has so much more though. While telling the fascinating story of Britton’s murder, Cooper carefully covers the history of the past 50 years, the sometimes toxic history of Harvard and the often toxic history of women in academia. Her painstaking research adds to the solemnity of the crime and never lessens the suspense.
Hopefully Cooper’s next book will not take ten years to write. But maybe that’s why it’s such a flawless accomplishment.

The Dead Are Never Forgotten

Cooper starts out to write about, and possibly solve, a five decades old murder. What she finds is much more. Harvard practices sex and race discrimination openly. The world of academia is cut throat, and Harvard will do anything to appear righteous. Even ignore a murder?