Glensheen's Daughter, The Marjorie Congdon Story

by Sharon Darby Hendry

Two horrific murders shocked the state of Minnesota as the bodies of heiress Elisabeth Congdon and her night nurse, Velma Pietila, were discovered in Glensheen Mansion. Suspicions soon turned to Elisabeth's beloved adopted daughter, Marjorie, and her insatiable desire for wealth.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History, Book Club, Biography, Own, Crime

335 pages, Paperback

First published November 23, 1998

Reviews

[Mindi · Rating 4 out of 5]

For many years, I lived in the Minneapolis and loved visiting Duluth. On one of our visits, when it was one hundred degrees below zero, I am not kidding, we visited Glensheen, the mansion turned museum of the millionaire Congdon family. During the tour, they would not discuss any details of the double murder of the heiress, Elizabeth Congdon or her nurse, Velma Pietela. I am not sure if it was out of courtesy because the manse was donated to the U of MN who ran the tours, or legal implications, but it always left me wondering. We were standing on the edge of a famous crime scene, but no one would talk about it. "Yes, Virginia, there are two elephants in the room, dead elephants, but no one is talking about them. Aren't the chandeliers delightful?"

Sharon Darby Hendry must have worn hip waders to read through all of the transcripts (4000 pages) from multiple trials that lasted months. She also thoroughly researched background information. I appreciated her level of attention to detail without boring the reader with it. She sifted carefully.

The book is about more than just the initial murders, but the life of Marjorie, Elizabeth's adopted daughter, who went on to commit many other crimes, always lying and manipulating and getting less than what justice would require.

If this had been a work of fiction, I would have put it down after fifty pages, but the amazing thing is that Marjorie really lived and really did all of these things, and probably more things. A quick internet search shows that she is still alive somewhere. That is even creepier.

If you are into profiling, mental health issues, Minnesota history, or lives of the rich and famous, you will enjoy this book.

[Gwen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow - this lady was cray cray!

[Kaylie Angell · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wild, crazy story.....I am left both fascinated and completely appalled that someone could get away with so much in their lifetime, yet barely served jail time. How!?

[Becky Loader · Rating 3 out of 5]

How on earth did Marjorie Congdon get away with so much? Plotting her mother's murder, arson, lying, coercing men to commit crimes, more arson, feeding drugs to Helen Hagen at her last meal, etc. etc. I did go to see the musical based on this book, and while I was very impressed with the actress who played Marjorie, I was appalled at what a nasty person she is.

I was fascinated with the portrait of Glensheen, and I had to get a few books out of the library so I could see the architecture and the Arts and Crafts furnishings. It just goes to prove that the rich may be able to afford gorgeous things, but they might not be nice people.

Yikes. And it all happened right here in Minnesota!

[Kim Gasparini · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 stars. This is an interesting story, and it is very close to home. The nurse that was murdered lived near my grandparents. This made me really want to like this book.
However, the writing is awful. Very cliched, undisciplined, and seemingly unedited. At one point, the author goes off on a tangent to talk about a detectives sparkling eyes. Another time, she takes pains to point out that a daughter/witness was chubby and unmarried. I do not know why this was brought up mid-testimony, but it was there.
She also doesn't seem to know how to correctly use the words affect/effect. That is nearly unforgivable.

[Angela Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story never ends. To this day, this woman is still stirring up trouble and doing what she does best...lie, cheat, steal, kill. She had everything a girl could ask for, and it just wasn't enough. Evil. Black hearted. Selfish. Manipulative. If the facts presented in this book are to be believed, this is a woman I'd have no interest in ever meeting, unless it was to tell her "shame on you!" GREAT read.

[Maren]

Not really finished, just bored with it about halfway through and giving up on it.

[Albehm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone from Minnesota needs to read this one.

[Laura]

i just remembered i read this in 2012 when i was in india. (i am reading an article about duluth and then thought of it and saw i never marked it down) i remember liking it but idk what stars to add. in 2015 or so i went to the glensheen mansion with my mom and took a tour where they conspicuously dont mention ANY of the drama but since we knew about it we basically obnoxiously made our own whisper tour being like "this is the staircase she fell down" or whatever. it's a beautiful mansion, would reccommmend. the gift shop had this book displayed very discreetly. maybe its out of respect to the family members involved, i feel like most places would cash the fuck out on the true crime bonanza.

[David Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve lived in Minnesota my entire life, have visited Duluth where this murder mystery begins, and have toured the Glensheen mansion which starts it all. Recently my wife and I saw the play “Glensheen” based on the book of the same name by Jeffrey Hatcher. It was very good put on by the History Theatre of St. Paul.
So my curiosity of this bizarre story was peeked. I chose the book here by Sharon Darby Hendrey because it has a chronological crime-solvers technique, concisely done, almost like reading a series of newspaper reports. I liked it and it was very effective. I learned a great deal, many many anecdotes that were not publicly known. If you’re from Minnesota and can relate to this 1977 crime and many subsequent twists and turns, you will like this book.

[Cierra Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was extremely hard to put down, non-stop drama that easily sucked you in to the very end. Story about one of the adopted children of Elisabeth Congdon, who ultimately ended up being murdered, who had a husband that was found guilty of murdering his mother-in-law for money. Was Marjorie Congdon the real culprit of the murder and arson stories throughout her life? The controversy will haunt everyone.

[LuAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Living in Minnesota I was definitely familiar with the murders at Glensheen, but I had no idea that Marjorie was such a sociopath. She's just evil - born that way from what I could tell. I don't know why any man would ever get involved with this crazy. I also had no idea she was such an arsonist - it's amazing how many times she got away with it. A really well written book, I'm looking forward to read other books by this author.

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so well written with all the details of Marjorie congrons life and she didn't spare any of the events that took place ... This happened before I was born and even though I was born and raised in MN, I never knew what made glensheens mansion so popular... A must read for those folks that like suspense and murder mysteries, bc this is a murder mystery like no other!!!

[Tracey Fredrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing style of this book was not my favorite and coupled with the grammatical errors every once in a while, just was a bit distracting.
It was interesting to read about Marjorie's background and troubles, giving the crimes committed much more light, but I just couldn't get into it enough to really enjoy it.

[Moni Novak · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a must read for anyone who grew up in Minnesota. I was shocked at the story and was surprised by the legal system. Unbelievable. This would make a great movie because I don’t know how someone gets away with multiple murders and is living out their retirement In Arizona.

[Luella · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting account of the terrible crimes and actions committed by the daughter of an elderly, wealthy heiress who was murdered in her bed. It's true crimes that never seem to end .

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well this is disturbing.

True crime gives me less hope in the world I can't understand why so many people enjoy it

[Adelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sharon Darby Hendry’s book offers a well-structured and engaging account of the life of Marjorie Congdon, along with an in-depth look at the notorious Glensheen Mansion murders. The writing is accessible, making the book easy to follow, and it held my attention from start to finish. Although I’ve lived near Glensheen Mansion for a decade and visited it myself, I had never delved into the history of the murders until now. The book provides valuable background on Chester Congdon and his daughter, Elisabeth Congdon, offering a thorough historical perspective. While the narrative invites readers to form their own conclusions, I found the occasional editorializing distracting, particularly as a former journalist. Nonetheless, it’s a solid introduction to the case for anyone interested in true crime and local history.

[CJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just moved to Minneapolis a few months ago after never having stepped foot in the state of Minnesota before and my roommate got me this book as a birthday present. I feel like this book is so steeped in Minnesota lore. Like there is no way any of this could have happened if these people were from anywhere other than here. My favorite part about this book is how deeply they're tied into the setting - like even though Marjorie's kids go to these nice schools on the East Coast or whatever there's always someone in the family who is going to the University of Minnesota. I also have not been to Duluth yet but I kind of feel like I have after reading the way the whole city was described in this book.

Something that really frustrated me about this - and I'm not sure if it's with the way the book is written or with how the trial was conducted - were all the loose ends that got dropped and never tied up. Like close to the end when Marjorie and Wally sell Cranberry House and they hand over two keys to the new owners the night before they burn it down and say they are the only two keys. A couple chapters later they're telling the police that there were four keys to the house (??) and somehow it didn't tie back in with the fact that they told the other family there were only two keys. Surely if the author is going to go the point of dropping that type of numerical detail then they should follow up explicitly about there being more keys.

[John Lyman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written recounting of the events and disasters of Marjorie Congdon's life. After reading this book it gives one pause as to whether justice is ever served. It is amazing that this woman got away with killing so many people, 3, and starting over 40 arson fires and passing hundreds of bad checks and scamming so many people for large amounts of cash. I wonder how much her inheritance and wealth had to do with her freedom, obviously hiring the best lawyers is a big help, but there were SO MANY things she did.

[Nneutz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first got intrigued by the mystery behind the Glensheen's mansion murder by a co-worker so I picked up Will to Murder. I read the book and then that summer we toured the mansion which the gift shop included this book about Marjorie Congedon. So far the first part appears to overlap a lot with the previous book I read. Will see how it continues....... In the end it added more detail to the original book I read.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a true story about an heiress who is an arsonist, and, probably, a murderer. It is interesting to me, what makes someone a serial criminal. And this woman, an heiress, even - what could motivate her? It is also interesting that she was tried for crimes committed while she lived in Duluth, MN, and Ajo, Arizona, both of which I've visited. Not especially well written, though. And the crucial scenes in the book (the murders) are fabricated.

[Pam Herrmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been awhile since I've visited the Glensheen. The story of Marjorie Caldwell is appalling. She was given everything in life including millions of dollars and all she was capable of was lying, cheating, arson, manipulation, and murder. I can't believe that she kept getting by with killing others, insurance fraud and arson. She sounds like an awful person. I'm curious to know where she's at now and what else she has done since this book was written.

[Lora · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is so shocking about this book is that it is non-fiction. As the story develops, it is a work that would normally provoke thoughts of "this author is being unrealistic" until you see the photographs, the newsarticles, and the police reports. The author also wrote SoLiAh, the Sara Jane Olson Story, which I've heard is very good as well. Intelligent writer-

[Dessa O'Dette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't even know where to begin on this. I honestly think that Roger Caldwell was framed and Marjorie very much had something to do with her mother's murder.
When the book got to the part of where Wally Hagan got together with Marjorie and how he dismissed his children completely really upset me.

[Kelly Crosgrove Sullivan Bredon · Rating 5 out of 5]

W. O.W. What an amazing book! If this book was fiction I would have put it down saying "no way, this is just too crazy to read." I knew of the murder mystery surrounding Glensheen mansion but this book really puts it all together. Had no idea how crazy it really was. Anyone from Minnesota or enjoys Duluth area should read this! Wish I could have given it a TEN!!!!!

[Kiessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Few topics are as chilling as this one: A privileged sociopathic heiress goes to any means to collect all that she feels entitled to receive. That she did it in the state where I live, in a home I have visited makes it all more real. Extraordinarily, grippingly, suspensefully disturbing

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this because I am going to tour the Glensheen mansion, and wanted to refresh my memory of the Congdon's story. I skipped over many pages of extreme detail of the trials, but otherwise I was satisfied with what I learned.

[samantha Mattson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

If you love going up to Duluth and visiting the Glensheen and are fascinated by the murders definitely read this book and the Will to Murder great book loved every detail.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was at this mansion this summer so the book held some interest for me. I really did enjoy reading the different insights to the people involved.