19th century Boston murders
19th century public outrage
A01=Dawn Keetley
Author_Dawn Keetley
Boston crime history
Category=DNXC
Category=JB
Category=JBSP1
Category=JKVQ2
Category=NHTB
child killer biography
childhood trauma and violence
criminal psychology origins
criminal responsibility debates
cultural history of violence
cultural reactions to brutality
dark side of human nature
disturbing historical crimes
early American media coverage
early dime novel influence
early forensic theories
early true crime narratives
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
forgotten crime stories
gothic American history
historical case studies of psychopaths
historical criminology
historical exploration of evil
history of American punishment
history of psychiatry and crime
history of psychopaths
infamous juvenile criminals
insanity defense debates
juvenile offenders in history
literature and violence debates
medical history of crime
medical theories of crime
moral explanations for crime
moral panic in the press
neurological effects of disease
nineteenth century psychiatry
notorious American murderers
pseudoscientific theories of violence
psychology of violence
public fascination with killers
public fear of crime
sensational American history
sensational newspaper trials
shocking murder trials
smallpox vaccine controversies
societal responses to murder
the mystery of human cruelty
theories of inherited evil
true crime history
vaccination and mental illness theories
Victorian era criminal cases
Product details
- ISBN 9781625342737
- Weight: 400g
- Dimensions: 152 x 228mm
- Publication Date: 11 Jul 2017
- Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
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When twelve- year- old Jesse Pomeroy tortured seven small boys in the Boston area and then went on to brutally murder two other children, one of the most striking aspects of his case was his inability ever to answer the question of why he did what he did. Whether in court or in the newspapers, many experts tried to explain his horrible acts— and distance the rest of society from them. Despite those efforts, and attempts since, the mystery remains.
In this book, Dawn Keetley details the story of Pomeroy’s crimes and the intense public outcry. She explores the two reigning theories at the time— that he was shaped before birth when his pregnant mother visited a slaughterhouse and that he imitated brutal acts found in popular dime novels. Keetley then thoughtfully offers a new theory: that Pomeroy was a psychopath who revealed our potential for brutality and tested societal efforts to manage behavior. The reaction to Pomeroy’s acts, then and now, demonstrates the struggle to account for those aspects of human nature that remain beyond our ability to understand them.
In this book, Dawn Keetley details the story of Pomeroy’s crimes and the intense public outcry. She explores the two reigning theories at the time— that he was shaped before birth when his pregnant mother visited a slaughterhouse and that he imitated brutal acts found in popular dime novels. Keetley then thoughtfully offers a new theory: that Pomeroy was a psychopath who revealed our potential for brutality and tested societal efforts to manage behavior. The reaction to Pomeroy’s acts, then and now, demonstrates the struggle to account for those aspects of human nature that remain beyond our ability to understand them.
Dawn Keetley is professor of English at Lehigh University and editor of We’re All Infected: Essays on AMC’s The Walking Dead and the Fate of the Human.
