Toxic Wives: Murder, Media and the Poison Panic in America

by Christine Seifert

In the latter half of the 1800s, widespread suspicion and anxiety emerged when wives of all ages and social status were accused of killing their husbands with poison. However, what seemed like a massive spike in murderous wives across the United Kingdom and United States may not have been a spike at all, but rather a poison panic caused by hungry newspapers and mass hysteria.

This work explores several high-profile cases of women on trial for murdering their husbands with poison. Lust, money and power were often central to the accusations, and the sensational news coverage set off a century-long witch hunt. No woman was safe from suspicion during this untold chapter in the history of crime.

260 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 17, 2023

About the author

I'm a fan of taking long walks on sunny days, browsing through the library on Saturday afternoons, and eating popcorn for lunch. I am a native North Dakotan, a professor at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah, and author of some books: Factory Girls (YA nonfiction, 2017 Zest); Whoppers: History's Most Outrageous Lies and Liars (YA nonfiction, 2015, Zest); Virginity in Young Adult Literature After Twilight (nonfiction/scholarship, 2015, Scarecrow); and The Predicteds (YA fiction, 2011 Sourcebooks Fire). I'm represented by Alyssa Eisner Henkin of Trident Media Group. When I'm not writing or teaching writing, I'm an avid reader and an enthusiastic listener of podcasts (especially podcasts about books). I hate golf, avalanches, and bees.

https://ladyprofessorreads.com/

https://www.facebook.com/#!/TeamChris...

Reviews

[Anita Boeira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good read, but what I appreciated more than the true stories reported was the commentary of what they meant for the age they happened and what the stories we consume today mean now. Really well researched, quick to read, and interesting. Also learned about some very disturbing things about bodily fluids.

(Full disclosure, I know the author and she’s a close friend)

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was hooked on each story. Great read.

[C.R. Hogan · Rating 5 out of 5]

thought provoking, eye opening, and well researched. a really good starting point for research on true crime, poison, and the women who are in the center of it all.