Lullaby and Good Night

by Vincent Bugliosi, William Stadiem

Robbed of her daughter and her career, Emily Stanton, a beautiful 1920s actress, seeks vindication--a quest that leads her through the illicit world of New York speakeasies and ultimately to a courtroom trial for murder

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

1 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published November 20, 1987

About the author

American attorney and author, best known for prosecuting Charles Manson and his followers for the murder of Sharon Tate and others.

In his books he claimed that O.J Simpson and Lee Harvey Oswald were guilty of the crimes they were accused of.

In his latest book he states that George W. Bush should be prosecuted for murder.

Bugliosi lived in Pasadena, CA.

Reviews

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

They called them the “Roaring Twenties” for a reason! A good, meaty plot. Based, loosely, on the true story of Vivian Gordon. Takes you into the corruption of New York City.

[Debra McCann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Written by lawyers, Vincent Bugliosi and William Stadiem, this historical novel was inspired by a true story ( Vivian Gordon, New York City). The main character, Emily Stanton, is a uniquely beautiful and talented young lady. She has come to New York City to become an actress. Instead Tammany Hall and the New York vice squad send her to jail for prostitution. Officer Michael McNaughton (actual person) sets up women to be accused of prostitution and either extorts money or sends them to jail. The Tammany Hall network judges comply. Once free, Emily fights her ex-husband for custody of their daughter. There is a corrupt network of Tammany Hall men throughout all of New York City’s governance. Through a revealing murder trial, Emily becomes the catalyst to this power grid’s undoing. The character of Emily is described too often by her sexually appealing appearance. She suffers “the Perils of Pauline.” There is a lot of sexism and ugly behavior, but fans of the time period, 1920’s, will be interested in this unique era depiction.

[Bamboozlepig · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really struggled with this one. I started it, then sort of lost the thread, then restarted it. My copy had a lot of typos and misspellings that were distracting. Emily wasn't very well drawn, despite being based on a real-life person. I found the narrative to be rather flat and Emily's appearance is described in an info-dump that seemed a bit contradictory.

I think I tried to read this years ago when it was still at one of the area libraries. IIRC, I struggled to get into it then as well. It's weird because this kind of story is right up my alley of true crime and the Roaring 20s, but it's just not written very well at all. Bugliosi's "Helter Skelter" was a much better (if unsettling) read.

[Vivian · Rating 2 out of 5]

It wasn’t boring so it got stars for that. The whole storyline just didn’t work for me. To me, Emily was far too idealistic. Because of that, she was gullible and always seemed to make the worst possible choices. Although she talked about wanting true love, it was obvious that she had no concept of what true love is and the author didn’t seem to either. To have her suddenly become “strong” and take on government corruption was just too far a stretch.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loosely based around the life and times of Vivian Gordon - the convicted prostitute who tried to fight the corruption of Tammany Hall and lost - Lullaby and Good Night introduces us to Emily Stanton - a beautiful 17-year-old chorus girl who meets up-and-coming Tammany businessman, Warren Matthews. Vivacious Emily is ultimately swept off her feet and into marriage to Warren, but the marriage eventually turns sour as Warren forbids Emily's return to the stage. He violently squelches her attempts to disobey and she leaves him. Warren immediately has Emily jailed for prostitution, thus gaining custody of their daughter and grounds for a divorce in one fell swoop.

After serving time, her reputation in ruins, Emily becomes a hostess at a raucous, glittering speakeasy; a high-priced call girl who "dated" many of the men who ran New York. The case which she built against Tammany Hall backfires when Warren is murdered and she is set up to take the fall. In a murder trial that rocks New York, Emily finds a platform to reveal her inside knowledge of corruption.

As I said before, I had read Helter Skelter many, many years ago and disliked it. In my opinion, Helter Skelter was incredibly long and detailed. Because of this, I was slightly wary of reading another Vincent Bugliosi book. I was extremely surprised by how much I actually enjoyed this book. I give this book an A+! I perhaps wouldn't recommend every book by Vincent Bugliosi, however I do recommend Lullaby and Good Night and I have high hopes for another Vincent Bugliosi book which I have on my bookshelf, And the Sea Will Tell.

[Graceann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emily Stanton is loosely based on the real-life Vivian Gordon, who took on Tammany and lost in the heyday of its corrupt life. Emily's story is a bit different than Vivian's, and Stadiem and Bugliosi's descriptions of New York in the 20's and 30s - the gamblers, speakeasies and theatres, certainly makes for a page-turner of a story. Unfortunately, however, even if Emily couldn't see what was going to happen to her 10 pages, or 50 pages, ahead of time, I could, and that makes for an ultimately unsatisfying read. I would prefer to be surprised by a story, rather than muttering to myself "don't go there, Emily!" The novel is definitely worth reading for the backdrop of New York during Prohibition, with its descriptions of Texas Guinan, Arnold Rothstein and Tammany in all their seedy glory.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting fictionalized account of a true crime.