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Three Sisters in Black
The bizarre true case of the 'Bathtub Tragedy".
It started when a beautiful young woman named Ocey Snead was found in a bathtub--naked and dead. — Charged with her murder were her mother, Caroline, and her two aunts, Mary and Virginia--all socially prominent southern belles. — But the investigation of the "The Bathtub Tragedy" was only the beginning, for it revealed a family history of other bizarre, violent unexplained deaths, with all the clues pointing to the mysterious 'sisters in black'...
It started when a beautiful young woman named Ocey Snead was found in a bathtub--naked and dead. — Charged with her murder were her mother, Caroline, and her two aunts, Mary and Virginia--all socially prominent southern belles. — But the investigation of the "The Bathtub Tragedy" was only the beginning, for it revealed a family history of other bizarre, violent unexplained deaths, with all the clues pointing to the mysterious 'sisters in black'...
192 pages
First published January 1, 1968
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 101 reviews
July 18, 2009
On November 29, 1909 an apparent suicide was called into a police station in East Orange, New Jersey. Upon arriving at the house the county physician found the only living inhabitant to be a woman in a long black dress, her face entirely obscured by heavy veils. The victim, the woman's niece, was dead in the bathtub, clutching a washcloth in one hand.
Suspicious circumstances surrounding the death, including the fact that the victim had apparently been lying in the bathtub a full 24-hours before her aunt bothered to check on her, led to a police investigation which followed clues from New Jersey into New York, Virginia and Georgia. In the course of the investigation, two sisters of the victim's aunt were also implicated in the death: the victim's mother, Catherine Martin, and another aunt. All three women dressed exclusively in black with heavy, face-obscuring veils.
Based on a true story, Norman Zierold's Three Sisters in Black is an attempt to sift through the police reports, newspaper articles and other contemporary information to create a narrative of the infamous "Bathtub Tragedy" and the resulting investigations.
I became interested in this story after seeing this picture of Ocey Snead, the victim on the Shorpy photo blog. It took a while to track down a copy of this book, and the copy I did find was in terrible shape with most of the pages detached from the spine. The basic facts of the incident can be found on Ocey Snead's wikipedia page. While Zierold's book adds some more interest to those facts by including quotes from the trial and the 1909 newspaper coverage, he also seems to have been caught up a bit in the Victorian Gothic melodrama of the case and some of his writing is a bit "over the top".
However you choose to learn about the case, via Zierold's book or through internet research, it's a fascinating story of a twisted, formerly prestigious family from the American South that includes at least one murder-for-profit, and quote probably at least two more. Add in some insanity, empty Victorian mansions full of rotting newspapers, and the three women in black themselves, and the story of Ocey Snead's death and the Wardlaw family becomes a twisted, Gothic story that would make an excellent movie. Are you listening, Hollywood?
Suspicious circumstances surrounding the death, including the fact that the victim had apparently been lying in the bathtub a full 24-hours before her aunt bothered to check on her, led to a police investigation which followed clues from New Jersey into New York, Virginia and Georgia. In the course of the investigation, two sisters of the victim's aunt were also implicated in the death: the victim's mother, Catherine Martin, and another aunt. All three women dressed exclusively in black with heavy, face-obscuring veils.
Based on a true story, Norman Zierold's Three Sisters in Black is an attempt to sift through the police reports, newspaper articles and other contemporary information to create a narrative of the infamous "Bathtub Tragedy" and the resulting investigations.
I became interested in this story after seeing this picture of Ocey Snead, the victim on the Shorpy photo blog. It took a while to track down a copy of this book, and the copy I did find was in terrible shape with most of the pages detached from the spine. The basic facts of the incident can be found on Ocey Snead's wikipedia page. While Zierold's book adds some more interest to those facts by including quotes from the trial and the 1909 newspaper coverage, he also seems to have been caught up a bit in the Victorian Gothic melodrama of the case and some of his writing is a bit "over the top".
However you choose to learn about the case, via Zierold's book or through internet research, it's a fascinating story of a twisted, formerly prestigious family from the American South that includes at least one murder-for-profit, and quote probably at least two more. Add in some insanity, empty Victorian mansions full of rotting newspapers, and the three women in black themselves, and the story of Ocey Snead's death and the Wardlaw family becomes a twisted, Gothic story that would make an excellent movie. Are you listening, Hollywood?
February 21, 2022
My first true crime book.
Well written and intriguing enough to keep me glued to the book, this is a curious tale of the plot of three women (her mother and two aunts) to murder poor Ocey Snead in 1909 for her insurance money.
Like the author, I was perplexed by why those three women would choose to dress all in black as their uniform. Maybe they had a limited selection of dresses and only wore black? But of course, people will remember them dressed as if they were mysterious and creepy, and it wouldn't be good to generate such interest if you are going to kill people.
Oh, since the book was first published in 1968, the author used the word "Negro" to refer to blacks.
And I think by not being an American, I have lost some of the understanding of what it means to be a Southerner.
Well written and intriguing enough to keep me glued to the book, this is a curious tale of the plot of three women (her mother and two aunts) to murder poor Ocey Snead in 1909 for her insurance money.
Like the author, I was perplexed by why those three women would choose to dress all in black as their uniform. Maybe they had a limited selection of dresses and only wore black? But of course, people will remember them dressed as if they were mysterious and creepy, and it wouldn't be good to generate such interest if you are going to kill people.
Oh, since the book was first published in 1968, the author used the word "Negro" to refer to blacks.
And I think by not being an American, I have lost some of the understanding of what it means to be a Southerner.
March 28, 2017
Finally, all my questions about the death of Ocey Snead are answered! I think. This was a great study of a weird, weird, weird situation. The author really did his best to dig into a case when there was probably nobody left alive to interview. By the end of the story I was really starting to wonder whether the madwoman they were questioning on the stand was telling the truth all along. She made some good points. But here's the thing: so did everyone else involved. Very well-written and thought-provoking. I would recommend this to anyone!
March 2, 2010
Norman Zierold is also the author of
Little Charley Ross
, the story of what is in my opinion one of the most fascinating kidnapping cases in American history, a case for which my own website was named. It is Zierold's authorship as much as the actual story that caused me to pick up Three Sisters in Black.
I find this book has much the same sort of writing as the other: straightforward and comprehensive journalistic reporting. The Snead murder case is infinitely more complicated than Charley Ross's abduction, but Zierold, a historian, does a good job of sorting through all the media hullaballoo and conflicting testimonies and points of view. If you want to learn all about this fascinating murder, you can't go wrong with Zierold's book.
I only wish that (A) Zierold had provided footnotes, endnotes or at least a bibliography of sources and (B) He would have dared to do some of his own speculating. The case is a century old now and was sixty years old when this book was published; he could not have done any harm by voicing a few of his own opinions. Zierold probably knows more about that case than anyone living: what, in his opinion, really happened to Ocey Snead? Were her aunts crazy, crazy like a fox or something in between? I know what you know, Mr. Zierold, but what do you THINK?
I find this book has much the same sort of writing as the other: straightforward and comprehensive journalistic reporting. The Snead murder case is infinitely more complicated than Charley Ross's abduction, but Zierold, a historian, does a good job of sorting through all the media hullaballoo and conflicting testimonies and points of view. If you want to learn all about this fascinating murder, you can't go wrong with Zierold's book.
I only wish that (A) Zierold had provided footnotes, endnotes or at least a bibliography of sources and (B) He would have dared to do some of his own speculating. The case is a century old now and was sixty years old when this book was published; he could not have done any harm by voicing a few of his own opinions. Zierold probably knows more about that case than anyone living: what, in his opinion, really happened to Ocey Snead? Were her aunts crazy, crazy like a fox or something in between? I know what you know, Mr. Zierold, but what do you THINK?
August 7, 2013
This was a fascinating book. Zierold does a good job of stating the facts of the case. It was bizarre, and though I tend to lean towards my own suspicions of what happened, the book is pretty open-ended. I appreciated the chapters that delved into the sisters' and Ocey's family history, showing the decline of a genteel Southern family. The book was very tragic, and I ended up reading it quickly in a few short days.
Read
March 14, 2019Abandoned.
Normally I love true crime, but there has to be a narrative that I find compelling, and this book just didn’t work for me. It felt like a dry regurgitation of names and dates and places that was hard for me to follow.
🙁
Normally I love true crime, but there has to be a narrative that I find compelling, and this book just didn’t work for me. It felt like a dry regurgitation of names and dates and places that was hard for me to follow.
🙁
September 25, 2024
The Ocey Snead murder case really isn't interesting or complex enough for a book of this length; an online article or a Youtube video would serve you fine.
September 9, 2018
The book was written in 1968 about a trial that took place around 1911. Three sisters were charged with killing Ocey Sean. Ocey was the daughter of one sister and the niece of the other two. The story gets stranger and stranger. I had to remind myself that this is a true story by a great author. The language used reflects the time period of the trial. I had to look up words a few tiles. The story held my attention and my state of amazement that three women like these actually existed. It’s not a soft, quick read. However, it is a good read.
October 24, 2024
2,5 ★
Informative but so very tedious
Informative but so very tedious
April 20, 2023
Ocey Snead died in the bathtub in a desolate home in New Jersey in 1909. The unfurnished and unheated house raised suspicion in the first detective to arrive at the scene. An aunt, Virginia Wardlaw, informed the lawman that her niece committed suicide after the death oh her husband and daughter.
The young woman weighed eighty pounds and had drowned in a four foot bathtub. She had starved to death. A suicide note was found but no pen was anywhere in sight. Virginia was dressed in all black and was immediately suspect number one. The strange woman was covered from head to toe, including a veil that she refused to remove.
An investigation trail led to Brooklyn where Virginia and her two sisters had lived and were seen by numerous witnesses moving about the borough dressed in all black. Even in the Big Apple it was noticed. The Southern born sisters had roots which were quite deep, with Ocey's father being a colonel in the Confederate Army.
Several insurance policies were held by the vultures in black and the police had a clear motive for murder.
The most amusing chapter details the sanity hearing of Ocey's mother Caroline Martin. Four alienists debated the difference between insanity and eccentricity. Ms. Martin's outbursts were quite entertaining.
In the end we are left with a Southern gothic mystery, and a very good one for this true crime reader.
The young woman weighed eighty pounds and had drowned in a four foot bathtub. She had starved to death. A suicide note was found but no pen was anywhere in sight. Virginia was dressed in all black and was immediately suspect number one. The strange woman was covered from head to toe, including a veil that she refused to remove.
An investigation trail led to Brooklyn where Virginia and her two sisters had lived and were seen by numerous witnesses moving about the borough dressed in all black. Even in the Big Apple it was noticed. The Southern born sisters had roots which were quite deep, with Ocey's father being a colonel in the Confederate Army.
Several insurance policies were held by the vultures in black and the police had a clear motive for murder.
The most amusing chapter details the sanity hearing of Ocey's mother Caroline Martin. Four alienists debated the difference between insanity and eccentricity. Ms. Martin's outbursts were quite entertaining.
In the end we are left with a Southern gothic mystery, and a very good one for this true crime reader.
January 8, 2024
Three Sister in Black
What an odd odd story this is. If this was a work of fiction people would say it was unbelievable, but this is a real story about real people and possibly demented people. I had read a book about the Wardlaws probably 40 years ago and that book captivated me, this book not so much. It wasn’t horribly written, just hard to follow at times. A little confusing and not enough detail where there should have been more.
What an odd odd story this is. If this was a work of fiction people would say it was unbelievable, but this is a real story about real people and possibly demented people. I had read a book about the Wardlaws probably 40 years ago and that book captivated me, this book not so much. It wasn’t horribly written, just hard to follow at times. A little confusing and not enough detail where there should have been more.
July 20, 2019
Creepy.
Interesting to hear about places in Brooklyn and the city, though, from a hundred years ago, where these women "lived" or used the places to stash things. Legal procedures leading up to conviction were also of interest.
Interesting to hear about places in Brooklyn and the city, though, from a hundred years ago, where these women "lived" or used the places to stash things. Legal procedures leading up to conviction were also of interest.
April 2, 2020
Intriguing
A very interesting book. I had not heard of Ocey Snead before this (was linked via The Lineup, a website of true crime, paranormal, and all sorts of intriguing stuff. The writing is dated, partly due to long sections of direct quotes from the turn of the last century. And, as the author commented, no one asks about their black attire!
A very interesting book. I had not heard of Ocey Snead before this (was linked via The Lineup, a website of true crime, paranormal, and all sorts of intriguing stuff. The writing is dated, partly due to long sections of direct quotes from the turn of the last century. And, as the author commented, no one asks about their black attire!
July 8, 2019
Started out great because the story is wild but the second half was just the trials and it was tedious.
April 7, 2019
Trigger warnings: death, murder, suicide, death of a child, mentions of drug addiction.
3.5 stars.
This book was originally published in the 1960s and then appears to have been republished in 2018 following the author's death. This book was also a wild ride.
To sum up the case in question:
- In 1909, a young woman is found dead in the bath
- She drowned in almost no water
- A suicide note is found
- Doctors come forward to say that they'd been to the house a bunch of times in the lead up to her death and there was some seriously shady shit going on
- Her mother and aunts are the cause of the shady shit
The whole book had kind of a Mischa-Barton-in-the-Sixth-Sense vibe to it but with less answers. There were weird insurance situations. There was the whole thing with sending Ocey's newborn son off to a hospital and just basically leaving him there for MONTHS until he died. There was the fact that Ocey's mother told her that her husband was dead but it turned out that he was in Canada the entire time and Ocey's mother KNEW THAT???? Like........
I don't really know what to make of this book, because it's essentially just relating the particulars of the case without any speculation around motive. So while the case was fascinating, I feel just as baffled by the case as I did when I read the blurb.
3.5 stars.
This book was originally published in the 1960s and then appears to have been republished in 2018 following the author's death. This book was also a wild ride.
To sum up the case in question:
- In 1909, a young woman is found dead in the bath
- She drowned in almost no water
- A suicide note is found
- Doctors come forward to say that they'd been to the house a bunch of times in the lead up to her death and there was some seriously shady shit going on
- Her mother and aunts are the cause of the shady shit
The whole book had kind of a Mischa-Barton-in-the-Sixth-Sense vibe to it but with less answers. There were weird insurance situations. There was the whole thing with sending Ocey's newborn son off to a hospital and just basically leaving him there for MONTHS until he died. There was the fact that Ocey's mother told her that her husband was dead but it turned out that he was in Canada the entire time and Ocey's mother KNEW THAT???? Like........
I don't really know what to make of this book, because it's essentially just relating the particulars of the case without any speculation around motive. So while the case was fascinating, I feel just as baffled by the case as I did when I read the blurb.
December 15, 2018
A crazy, bizarre story. The strangest family ever.
The author compiled all the information on this case and delved into this family's history quite well. There aren't many details, so some repetition does happen.
What comes through is that this family lived by its own rules and the generation of the 3 sisters protected each other, at the expense of other family members. Add to that some psychological difficulties, including bizarre hoarding, and extreme poverty leading to meager food rations and the story becomes twisted and muddied.
Ocey Snead's death was a tragedy that could have been prevented. Her life could have been so different.
I ended up with questions that weren't touched upon:
- what was Ocey's early life like?
- did she truly want to marry her cousin?
- what the heck is his story in all of this?
- why are the 3 sisters wearing black, complete with heavy veils?
- what were the circumstances of the family? How did they get into this situation?
So many questions. This book was interesting but gave no clear answers. There just aren't any, it seems.
The author compiled all the information on this case and delved into this family's history quite well. There aren't many details, so some repetition does happen.
What comes through is that this family lived by its own rules and the generation of the 3 sisters protected each other, at the expense of other family members. Add to that some psychological difficulties, including bizarre hoarding, and extreme poverty leading to meager food rations and the story becomes twisted and muddied.
Ocey Snead's death was a tragedy that could have been prevented. Her life could have been so different.
I ended up with questions that weren't touched upon:
- what was Ocey's early life like?
- did she truly want to marry her cousin?
- what the heck is his story in all of this?
- why are the 3 sisters wearing black, complete with heavy veils?
- what were the circumstances of the family? How did they get into this situation?
So many questions. This book was interesting but gave no clear answers. There just aren't any, it seems.
July 2, 2020
It’s a compelling read, mainly for the meat of the case; but it falters rather hard on an unsteady and somewhat confusing pace. Where many books have a full section break or even chapter break to denote a change in perspective for events happening at the same time, this narrative can commit to neither.
What’s more, there is an added emphasis on the anonymity of the sisters, making their fashion choices a juicy detail, which it very well is: but the floridity of the writing around it draws it far further than is wise when there really isn’t going to be something as equally florid to pay it off. (If this was a fiction, the sisters would have proven to be vampires for how the narrative around their clothing and their choices was composed.)
It’s an interesting case, and if you can handle backtracking a few times should you lose the thread of who is where and when and doing what, then this is worth the read. But I’d more recommend looking up the case.
What’s more, there is an added emphasis on the anonymity of the sisters, making their fashion choices a juicy detail, which it very well is: but the floridity of the writing around it draws it far further than is wise when there really isn’t going to be something as equally florid to pay it off. (If this was a fiction, the sisters would have proven to be vampires for how the narrative around their clothing and their choices was composed.)
It’s an interesting case, and if you can handle backtracking a few times should you lose the thread of who is where and when and doing what, then this is worth the read. But I’d more recommend looking up the case.
May 6, 2018
Details Aplenty
I commend the author for his perseverance in slogging through the what must have seemed a neverending number of files to present such a detailed account of the crime and the actions of the accused in the years and days leading up to it. The amount of detail is a bit off putting. Hence, the four stars rather than five.
In what must have seemed a Herculean task, the author managed to provide a picture of the women beneath the veils. A stranger trio would be hard to find.
If you can manage to work your way through the insurance policies, loans, and questionable financial schemes, you will be rewarded with a weird but true tale of the death of a young woman and those accused of her murder.
I commend the author for his perseverance in slogging through the what must have seemed a neverending number of files to present such a detailed account of the crime and the actions of the accused in the years and days leading up to it. The amount of detail is a bit off putting. Hence, the four stars rather than five.
In what must have seemed a Herculean task, the author managed to provide a picture of the women beneath the veils. A stranger trio would be hard to find.
If you can manage to work your way through the insurance policies, loans, and questionable financial schemes, you will be rewarded with a weird but true tale of the death of a young woman and those accused of her murder.
April 28, 2018
If you thought that strange things only happen in our era, this book will give you something to think about! In November of 1909, the body of Ocey Snead, an emaciated young mother was found dead in her bathtub, just a day or so after moving into the house in East Orange, NJ. Who were the strange women in dressed in black mourning that reported the death, and how were they involved. Vewry creepy, but intriging.
July 5, 2018
Dysfunctional and then some
As much as I like old true crime stories, I had never heard of this case. A sad, beautiful young woman is found drowned in a bathtub, and suspicion falls on her mother and two aunts -- ladies who behave very strangely, and just happen to have life insurance policies on the deceased.
There are some loose ends that weren't really wrapped up, and a few typos (in the kindle edition). But it's an odd, interesting, sad tale.
As much as I like old true crime stories, I had never heard of this case. A sad, beautiful young woman is found drowned in a bathtub, and suspicion falls on her mother and two aunts -- ladies who behave very strangely, and just happen to have life insurance policies on the deceased.
There are some loose ends that weren't really wrapped up, and a few typos (in the kindle edition). But it's an odd, interesting, sad tale.
July 16, 2012
Creepy...terribly sad story, more so cos it really happened.
May 7, 2018
Totally fascinating old murder mystery.
January 30, 2024
I listened to this as an audio book and while I felt the writing was excellent and the case well researched the narrator's was irritating and grating and that's reflected in my 3 star rating.
In 1909 Oceana (Ocey) Snead was found dead in a bathtub in a sparsely furnished property with no heating and no food. She was emaciated and clearly had been neglected for a considerable period of time. She was in the care of her aunt Virginia Wardlaw at the time but she had failed to check on her despite Ocey being not having seen her for the previous 24 hours. What followed is the bizarre investigation into quite a strange and unsettling family. Once one of the great New York American families mixing socially the Asters and the Vanderbilts a previous relative of the Three Sisters in Black, Henry Wardlaw, was the founder of St Andrew's University in Scotland in 1411.
This is one of those accounts which, had this been fiction, would be dismissed as too far fetched, however Zierold meticulously researches and recounts this utterly baffling case. The outward depiction of strangeness is presented by the three older woman in this case always being dressed in full Victorian widow's weeds including heavy black veils so that identification of them by witnesses is difficult. Those three women being Caroline Martin (Ocey's mother) and her sisters Virginia Wardlaw and Mary Snead (who is also Ocey's mother in law). However the attire doesn't just hide their identities, it takes on a ghoulish cover for the monstrous treatment of Ocey and potentially of other children in the family who all seem to have been controlled or manipulated to some extent.
A disturbing investigation and trial follows although one sister dies while awaiting the trial to start and ultimately only one is found guilty of the murder of Ocey which seems far from justice to the modern reader and I was left feeling that while the crime was defined as murder in the end I felt the levels of insanity in the family revealed through their behaviour and their constant denial of any wrong doing leaves some doubt as to the actual culpability. Either way these were women from a most bizarre family and their deeds amounted to monstrous abuse.
In 1909 Oceana (Ocey) Snead was found dead in a bathtub in a sparsely furnished property with no heating and no food. She was emaciated and clearly had been neglected for a considerable period of time. She was in the care of her aunt Virginia Wardlaw at the time but she had failed to check on her despite Ocey being not having seen her for the previous 24 hours. What followed is the bizarre investigation into quite a strange and unsettling family. Once one of the great New York American families mixing socially the Asters and the Vanderbilts a previous relative of the Three Sisters in Black, Henry Wardlaw, was the founder of St Andrew's University in Scotland in 1411.
This is one of those accounts which, had this been fiction, would be dismissed as too far fetched, however Zierold meticulously researches and recounts this utterly baffling case. The outward depiction of strangeness is presented by the three older woman in this case always being dressed in full Victorian widow's weeds including heavy black veils so that identification of them by witnesses is difficult. Those three women being Caroline Martin (Ocey's mother) and her sisters Virginia Wardlaw and Mary Snead (who is also Ocey's mother in law). However the attire doesn't just hide their identities, it takes on a ghoulish cover for the monstrous treatment of Ocey and potentially of other children in the family who all seem to have been controlled or manipulated to some extent.
A disturbing investigation and trial follows although one sister dies while awaiting the trial to start and ultimately only one is found guilty of the murder of Ocey which seems far from justice to the modern reader and I was left feeling that while the crime was defined as murder in the end I felt the levels of insanity in the family revealed through their behaviour and their constant denial of any wrong doing leaves some doubt as to the actual culpability. Either way these were women from a most bizarre family and their deeds amounted to monstrous abuse.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2019
Three Sisters in Black by Norman J. Zierold is about the intriguing case of young, beautiful Oceana Wardlaw Martin Snead whose death occurred in a virtually empty house in New Jersey in 1909 - was it suicide or murder? The circumstances surrounding Ocey's death were extremely bizarre and involved starvation, drug abuse (morphine), mental illness, multiple life insurance policies, and three veiled sisters all dressed in black.
That not one of the doctors called to attend Ocey before her death intervened in a serious attempt to save her life although she was obviously in distress and suffering from malnutrition/starvation, at the very least, is abominable! Equally distressing is the fact that her frail baby boy was sent to a "hospital" where he languished and eventually died (her first child had died a few days after being born - Ocey had married her first cousin, never a good idea).
Caroline Wardlaw Martin, Ocey's mother, was ultimately held criminally accountable for her daughter's death - pleading guilty/"no contest" to manslaughter (and was most likely mentally ill and should have been institutionalized for treatment as other family members had strongly advocated for years), and her sister Virginia Wardlaw, in attempting a cover-up to keep that mental illness a family secret, was certainly morally, if not criminally, culpable in not attempting to prevent her niece's death. Both Caroline and Virginia died while in prison - Caroline of an illness and Virginia by starving herself. The third sister, Mary Wardlaw Snead, Ocey's aunt and mother-in-law was not charged with a crime and was released from prison after Caroline Martin's sentencing.
The entire situation was so very depressing with many lingering questions.
That not one of the doctors called to attend Ocey before her death intervened in a serious attempt to save her life although she was obviously in distress and suffering from malnutrition/starvation, at the very least, is abominable! Equally distressing is the fact that her frail baby boy was sent to a "hospital" where he languished and eventually died (her first child had died a few days after being born - Ocey had married her first cousin, never a good idea).
Caroline Wardlaw Martin, Ocey's mother, was ultimately held criminally accountable for her daughter's death - pleading guilty/"no contest" to manslaughter (and was most likely mentally ill and should have been institutionalized for treatment as other family members had strongly advocated for years), and her sister Virginia Wardlaw, in attempting a cover-up to keep that mental illness a family secret, was certainly morally, if not criminally, culpable in not attempting to prevent her niece's death. Both Caroline and Virginia died while in prison - Caroline of an illness and Virginia by starving herself. The third sister, Mary Wardlaw Snead, Ocey's aunt and mother-in-law was not charged with a crime and was released from prison after Caroline Martin's sentencing.
The entire situation was so very depressing with many lingering questions.
January 16, 2023
I read the book Three Sisters in Black: The Bizarre True Case of the Bathtub Tragedy.
Three Sisters in Black is the true story of a gothic, gaslight nightmare that fascinated, shocked, and baffled the nation—and the disturbed women who almost got away with murder.
This book had me wondering why 3 ladies would let this happen to there own family member. I was extremely shocked and surprised in reading the why's and reasons of this shocking tragedy that happened to a beautiful young lady.
Ocey (Oceana) Snead was found in the bathtub in merely a foot of water dead. But only after her Aunt called the police nearly 24 hours later. Why she waited baffled me and why she didn't check on her in the first place I find even more baffling. As history played on the truth was discovered to how this terrible tragedy happened. The why still puzzles me as to why nobody ever stepped in and got the woman out of this terrible situation.
I enjoyed reading this story as it was based on true historical events. I'll admit that this is not my normal reading genre but being that it is based on a true story I really got into reading about what had happened to the young beautiful 24 year old woman who had so much life before her.
I will always wonder why the three ladies wore black dresses and kept there faces veiled in black like there were mourning somebodies death. I gave 5 stars as I loved reading the Three Ladies in Black and it will keep me very intrigued and wondering why.
Three Sisters in Black is the true story of a gothic, gaslight nightmare that fascinated, shocked, and baffled the nation—and the disturbed women who almost got away with murder.
This book had me wondering why 3 ladies would let this happen to there own family member. I was extremely shocked and surprised in reading the why's and reasons of this shocking tragedy that happened to a beautiful young lady.
Ocey (Oceana) Snead was found in the bathtub in merely a foot of water dead. But only after her Aunt called the police nearly 24 hours later. Why she waited baffled me and why she didn't check on her in the first place I find even more baffling. As history played on the truth was discovered to how this terrible tragedy happened. The why still puzzles me as to why nobody ever stepped in and got the woman out of this terrible situation.
I enjoyed reading this story as it was based on true historical events. I'll admit that this is not my normal reading genre but being that it is based on a true story I really got into reading about what had happened to the young beautiful 24 year old woman who had so much life before her.
I will always wonder why the three ladies wore black dresses and kept there faces veiled in black like there were mourning somebodies death. I gave 5 stars as I loved reading the Three Ladies in Black and it will keep me very intrigued and wondering why.
December 10, 2019
4 stars
Method read: ebook
This was such a twisty, crazy book.
The primary mystery at first doesn't seem that interesting, just a suicide that might actually be a murderer, but the people at the heart of the mystery are truly bizarre and reading about them is a delight. There is so many weird layers to this story that I was constantly questioning my own beliefs about what happened.
The writing was a little dry and packed full of dates and names that aren't particularly relevant to the story as a whole. But there is some court dialogue at the end that is legendary. LEGENDARY. If that had happened today in the world of cameras everywhere, it would have gone beyond viral.
The book doesn't provide any concrete answers about the crime which is what I prefer, especially with such an old case. I think only the people who were there can truly know what happened and if they aren't talking, we won't be knowing. But I was satisfied with the ending and I think the author did a good job with the recording of the entire case and making the facts not seem so fact-y.
Overall, I really liked it and I would recommend it to fans of true crime.
Method read: ebook
This was such a twisty, crazy book.
The primary mystery at first doesn't seem that interesting, just a suicide that might actually be a murderer, but the people at the heart of the mystery are truly bizarre and reading about them is a delight. There is so many weird layers to this story that I was constantly questioning my own beliefs about what happened.
The writing was a little dry and packed full of dates and names that aren't particularly relevant to the story as a whole. But there is some court dialogue at the end that is legendary. LEGENDARY. If that had happened today in the world of cameras everywhere, it would have gone beyond viral.
The book doesn't provide any concrete answers about the crime which is what I prefer, especially with such an old case. I think only the people who were there can truly know what happened and if they aren't talking, we won't be knowing. But I was satisfied with the ending and I think the author did a good job with the recording of the entire case and making the facts not seem so fact-y.
Overall, I really liked it and I would recommend it to fans of true crime.
October 14, 2023
Overall, an interesting read due to the horrific nature of the book, which is based on fact. However, it was a little wordy in places. If you like a lot of detail and description, this will probably be a more pleasurable read for you. It shouldn’t put you off too much though as the real focus is the true crime element, which is dark and disturbing, and very much draws the reader in. It focuses on the sisters more than the victim but their history is very interesting.
One thing that may also put some people off is the use of borderline xenophobic words. This may be because of the era this was written about but seemed unnecessary out of quotation.
I do enjoy the inclusion of so much documentation throughout the book as it gives a deeper look, though in many places it sounds very fictitious because of the writer’s artistic license on the details.
Very few mistakes with spelling and grammar
One thing that may also put some people off is the use of borderline xenophobic words. This may be because of the era this was written about but seemed unnecessary out of quotation.
I do enjoy the inclusion of so much documentation throughout the book as it gives a deeper look, though in many places it sounds very fictitious because of the writer’s artistic license on the details.
Very few mistakes with spelling and grammar
January 9, 2021
An interesting, engaging historical true crime story, although it benefits from its source material in the extreme - Zierold doesn't really draw much in the way of conclusions, and seems to take all the contemporary news reports at face value. At times this can get a little ridiculous, as when he quotes people as speaking in long, flowery paragraphs, or when he uses a newspaper report's description of someone. It's very readable, basically, but Zierold uses a very light touch on any non-case related sources (descriptions of towns and architecture is pretty much it, honestly - that and family history). It was an easy read but mostly just sad. It's pretty clear that this was an intensely dysfunctional family with a great deal of mental illness involved, which played out in a variety of destructive ways.
March 22, 2020
Throughout the first half of the book I debated whether I actually liked it that much. The story and the main characters of the three veiled sisters was fascinating. The twists and turns proved very hard to pause.
However, the writing was a bit off-putting. Many times, especially in the middle of the book, it read more like a series of factual statements rather than building an enjoyable story.
Now that I have finished and listened intently to the court proceedings, I decided I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story was baffling and each new development was more kooky than that last. The writing is just a bit of a chore to get through.
However, the writing was a bit off-putting. Many times, especially in the middle of the book, it read more like a series of factual statements rather than building an enjoyable story.
Now that I have finished and listened intently to the court proceedings, I decided I enjoyed it quite a bit. The story was baffling and each new development was more kooky than that last. The writing is just a bit of a chore to get through.
September 10, 2019
It started out amazing but the second half was dry, with a lot of trial stuff. The story is such a bizarre, convoluted one, and I wish the author had given some opinion or theory, at least at the end, because what happened still isn't clear. But surely he had some suspicion after all this! It's very straightforward and heavily researched but no commentary. I liked that so many NYC locations were specified in detail, it's fun to picture the stops in the narrative. You could do worse for old timey true crime and a weird mystery.
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