The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill: Abortion, Death, and Concealment in Victorian New England

by Marcia Biederman

“The narrative unfolds like a high-stakes crime novel.”— Kirkus Reviews

In 1898, a group of schoolboys in Bridgeport, Connecticut discovered gruesome packages under a bridge holding the dismembered remains of a young woman.

Finding that the dead woman had just undergone an abortion, prosecutors raced to establish her identity and fix blame for her death. Suspicion fell on Nancy Guilford, half of a married pair of “doctors” well known to police throughout New England.

A fascinated public followed the suspect’s flight from justice, as many rooted for the fugitive. The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill takes a close look not only at the Guilfords, but also at the cultural shifts and societal compacts that allowed their practice to flourish while abortion was both illegal and unregulated.

Focusing on the women at the heart of the story—both victim and perpetrator—Biederman reexamines this slice of history through a feminist lens and reminds us of the very real lives at stake when a woman's body and choices are controlled by others.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, History, Health, Biography, Historical, Crime

256 pages, Hardcover

Published January 23, 2024

About the author

A mystery-writer-turned-biographer, Marcia Biederman is also a journalist who has contributed more than 150 pieces to The New York Times. Her work has also appeared in New York magazine, the Christian Science Monitor, and the International Herald Tribune.

Reviews

[Maja - BibliophiliaDK ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting more of a social commentary on abortion rights (especially considering the Roe v Wade repel) and more about the lives of the women, who were forced to get these illegal abortions. I was a bit surprised at the angle of following the abortionists. It made it more of a true crime read than social commentary, and it just wasn't what I was expecting. I think I was expecting more "The Five" by Hallie Rubenhold.
ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Follow me for more book loving content!
Blog ✨ Facebook ✨ Instagram ✨ Twitter
Blog Post: Which Book Should you read next based on your favourite Jane Austen Heroine

[Devon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill is, alas, a book made even more relevant thanks to the backward slide in which America is currently engaged. While the book’s title character Emma Gill meets her death at the hands of Nancy Guilford, the majority of the book fleshes out Nancy and Henry’s lives, and the work they did that led eventually to Gill’s demise.

It’s obviously meticulously researched, and we can get a sense of the illicit business the Guilfords conducted. With the amounts paid out to them—even reaching $150 pre-1900!—they were clearly being handsomely rewarded for activity that was quickly becoming more and more dangerous with each arrest they notched beneath their belts. I think it might have been better balanced if we were given more statistics with regards to abortion (an estimate of the amount done, or of women who had presented with obvious symptoms afterward), however scant they could be, because the author notes that deaths were rare. I don’t doubt it, but at least three were laid at Nancy’s feet and touched upon while guiding the reader to Gill’s passing.

I’ve read another book a bit ago about abortion, that one featuring Madame Restell, and I found her to be a more sympathetic person. I think Nancy’s reaction of finding out her husband is raping people and charging her nurse for the resulting abortion and then kicking her out onto the street with no references kind of poisoned me against her, and the subsequent turning out of patients near to death didn’t do much to help. I understand she was saving her own skin, but still.

One part mentioning how a newspaper (in 1898!) pushed for sexual education in class and to throw aside prudery is so grim to compare with the absolute hell that is going on in classrooms a full 126 years later. So, as I said, it’s a very timely book and serves as a reminder of what we left behind and what will surely rise again if we return to a total abortion ban.

[Marilyn Shea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Long before the invention and availability of the birth control pill, women were faced with few choices when dealing with pregnancy. This true story of an abortion gone wrong in the Victorian era exposes the danger women encountered when seeking an illegal abortion. Abortions at the time were rather common among the middle and upper class women with the financial means of obtaining one but were not at all safe, sometimes resulting in a woman's inability to have other children or, in this case, in the death of the woman. Those practicing in the illegal abortion field were usuallly not medically trained, though they often claimed to be doctors and falsified their medical credentials. These abortion clinics were well known but were shielded by a police and judicial system that seemed loathe to prosecute them, as many of those in power made use of their services during times when needed by their wives, lovers or daughters. The abortion practioners, mainly women, made steady incomes, advertising themselves to be able to take care of any "female complaints." They provided rooms where the "afflicted" could recuperate from their operations, should they happen to have survived them. Many grisly details were included of babies, aborted alive and crying, and left to die on a set of shelves in the operating room. This book focused on the case of one young woman who died of septicemia after being pierced by the tool used to abort her fetus. The abortion provider was stuck with the corpse of the woman and had to find a way to dispose of the body. Unfortunately for her, the body was later discovered and a long hunt for the "doctor" and her subsequent trial was recounted in exhausting detail. The hypocrisy of the Victorian upper class was clearly evident as they sought to demonize the abortion providers as well as the women seeking their services when many of them had sought such services.

[Karen Torghele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading Marcia Biederman's book, "The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill" was like watching a fast-paced crime drama unfold on the written pages. Her skillful interweaving of the story of desperate women with no good options in Victorian New England and the criminal practitioners who offered a last-ditch solution puts the reader in the shoes of all involved. The book offers a valuable picture of the history of women's health issues and the disastrous results when there were no safe choices. The book is all the more satisfying because it is carefully researched and documented non-fiction. I am going to recommend it to my book club as a terrific read and material for a lively discussion.

[Nomes · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting true crime read, about two 19th-century abortionists run from the law and the repercussions of a patient’s brutal death.

We follow Henry and Nancy Guilford, a pair of unlicensed “doctors” who become some of the most notorious abortion providers across New England. Neither Henry or Nancy have medical qualifications, but that didn't stop them from convincing many desperate women to seek their services. Emma's story reveals how abortion was perceived and stigmatised acutely by the community & law enforcement in the late 1800's.

Overall a multifaceted, revealing historical account of one woman’s abortion.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Emma Gill died after seeking an abortion from Dr. Nancy Guilford in 1898. Emma found herself in a sexual relationship with a man above her social class. The pair wanted to terminate the pregnancy. Unfortunately, as abortion was illegal in the United States, they traveled around to find someone willing to covertly perform the procedure. Equally as unfortunate, they found Dr. Guilford, who had skipped bail and was hurting for money. She agreed to perform the procedure on Emma for a stiff fee, despite the advanced stage of pregnancy. Emma contracted an infection, killing her. Her body was dismembered and dumped. The whole story was tragic and avoidable. Access to sterile medical environments, with qualified medical professionals, and the legal right to access medical care would have prevented Emma's death...and so many others.
 
This is a very relevant book to our current time where women's right to access medical care and reproductive issues are being undermined by men with no business commenting, those who have no concept of science and biology, and those pushing one religious agenda. It is easy to see how dangerous the criminalization of abortion can be. Making access to medical procedures will not stop the medical procedures. It will simply kill women. Women will be regulated to seeking black market medical care from unqualified people, just like Emma Gill did. I was pleased with this book, which is less than 300 pages and only about six hours to listen to on Audible.

[Karyl · Rating 3 out of 5]

For most of America’s history, abortion has been illegal, but it hasn’t been the overarching moral issue it is today. But abortion was hard to prove, and many people providing them advertised their services baldly in newspapers. Unless someone was harmed during an abortion, generally the providers were left to their own devices.

This is the story of a married couple, Henry Guilford and Nancy Alice Guilford, both of whom falsified any medical training they claimed to have, who both provided abortions throughout New England. They stood trial a few times and went to jail, most notably for the death of Emma Gill, who died from complications resulting from an abortion, and who Nancy Guilford dismembered in an effort to distance herself from the death.

As has happened throughout history, even though abortion was illegal, it was still achievable if you had the money for one. Biederman does an excellent job of showing that Nancy Guilford in particular was motivated far more by earning as much as much cash as possible than by caring for her patients. She continued to harass Gill’s boyfriend for the balance of her fee, even as Gill lay dying.

However, there were times when Biederman allowed a snarky tone to enter her writing, which I found off-putting in a nonfiction book. I’d rather just have the facts without any kind of moralizing. Also, while the book tended to keep my attention, by the time I finished I realized that the information itself is rather sparse. Instead there is a lot of courtroom drama.

One thing to keep in mind is that no matter whether abortion is legal or no, women will continue to seek abortions. It’s when it’s illegal that women tend to die.

[Bethany Swafford · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 1898 Bridgeport, Connecticut, schoolboys discover dismembered remains under a bridge. The find leads prosecutors to investigate the victim's recent abortion. The focus turns to Nancy Guilford, part of a notorious pair of "doctors" known to police in New England as being abortionists. This is the Guilfords' story, examining the cultural shifts and societal compacts that allowed their illicit practice to thrive in the era when abortion was both illegal and unregulated.

True crime stories are always interesting to read. I’d never heard of this crime before, but it kept me glued to the page. From the origins of these two “doctors” and the businesses they conducted to provide for the family, to the court cases that brought their activities to light, I was intrigued to see how it all happened. Every person involved was complicated and neither side was completely black and white.

The author draws on contemporary articles and evidence to tell the tale from start to finish. Overall, I found it an interesting and informative read.

I would recommend this to readers with an interest in true crime. I received an ARC through NetGalley and all opinions expressed are my own.

[Michael David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Prepare to have all of your stereotypes of Victorian-era America overthrown by "The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill," which reveals that, just beneath the espoused virtue of no sex before or outside of marriage, the men and women of 1890s New England were pretty much doing what people do today. They just lied about it more elaborately.

That extended to abortion, which author Biederman depicts as American as apple pie during the era of our great-great grandparents. But in perhaps a harbinger of post-Roe America, its illegality created a criminal subculture that implicated all of society — including abortionist Nancy Guilford, who made her living providing an officially condemned but wildly popular service.

Like the author's previous biographies, "The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill" is a portrait of both a morally complex central character and the times that created her. A good read indeed.

[Linda Edmonds Cerullo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shocking and gruesome narrative of an abortionist in the late 1800s who takes a drastic step when one of her patients dies. Despite abortion being a crime punishable by imprisonment for ages in many areas of the world, desperate women sought the services of doctors, nurses and at times the untrained to help deal with the unexpected. In the days before it became legal, women quite literally risked their own lives and their future potential to bear children by allowing unscrupulous and money hungry people to end their problem. This account is comprehensive, covering previous arrests and the trials of this woman and her husband and clearly reveals the mixed feelings even the police had over this conflicting issue. Whether you are pro or anti abortion, this well written, little known and horrific incident clearly shows that abortion is an issue that will be with us forever.

[Sara Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marcia Biederman once again brings her skills as a dogged journalist to this spell-binding and morally complex story, demonstrating the desperation of women, even more than a century ago, to control their bodies and exercise their reproductive rights. Exploring the death of an innocent young woman, no one—including journalists, law enforcement, lawyers, the medical establishment, and gawking bystanders—escapes Biederman’s deft and critical eye. It’s a sad chapter in our collective history that will haunt the reader for a long time after the last page is read.

Biederman is attracted to the stories of women whom history has ignored. This is another of those books. But she also dissects how their stories were distorted by "the establishment" of their times.

[Marsha Jacobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book about desperate women and those around them.
With her outstanding journalism credentials and sly wit, Biederman deftly untangles the knotty mix of hardboiled characters who transform themselves like chameleons, chaotic trials with imprisoned witnesses and free-to-roam suspects, bumbling investigators, wiley journalists, and deadly consequential issues. In the opening paragraphs, young boys see some bags floating in the water, and off we go. What follows is a story of desperate women, those who broke the law to serve them, those who broke the law to serve themselves. A book that resonates with our own time, impossible to put down.

[John Donati · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill is a sobering dive into a forgotten corner of Victorian New England, where the tragic death of a young woman exposes the murky intersection of abortion, justice, and societal hypocrisy. Marcia Biederman’s research is thorough and her prose admirably restrained—this isn’t sensationalist true crime, but a careful reconstruction of a grim historical moment.

That said, the book occasionally struggles to balance its narrative momentum with its archival depth. Emma Gill herself remains frustratingly elusive, more symbol than subject, and while the Guilfords’ flight and trial are compelling, the emotional core feels underdeveloped. The feminist lens is welcome and timely, but at times it reads more like commentary than character study.

For readers interested in historical true crime with a sociopolitical edge, this offers plenty to reflect on. But those seeking a more immersive or emotionally resonant experience may find it informative rather than gripping. A solid read—just not a haunting one.

[Valerity (Val) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was focused on a pair of so-called doctors who provided illegal abortions back in the late 1800s. They had offices in many different cities in New England and did quite well. Until a patient died that Nancy Guilford treated. The dismembered body led back to her. A shocking read filled with much detail

[K · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not gripping, and was a bit dry in places, but the author did present a very interesting and informative description of the illegal abortion landscape in New England in the late 1800s. The horrors these women had to endure in order to protect their "honor"--at times on their own, having been deserted by friends and family, or simply too afraid to tell them. A scary world indeed.

[winifer skattebol · Rating 4 out of 5]

The works in reverse to a mystery novel because we already know "whodunit." What's fascinating is to watch the detectives track down the criminal by trial and error in an age without DNA forensics,
and the multiple ingenious ways she and her husband shape-shift to elude their grasp...until finally the game is up. I think the "doctor" should have served a life sentence.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and engaging book, clearly very well researched. The book focuses on the abortionist couple (who pretended to be doctors) and their careers. We don't really learn that much about Emma Gill herself, who died from her botched abortion and whose body was disposed of in inadvertently spectacular fashion. However, riveting portraits of various peripheral characters, including police detectives and relatives of prior botched abortion fatalities, are included. Recommended reading as a compelling portrait of the times. Refreshingly light on preachiness.

[Rich Liskov · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating but little known history of a husband and wife pair of abortion providers in Connecticut and Massachusetts in the 1890’s. If Spielberg, Scorsese or Streep doesn’t produce a movie on this, then
they are brain dead!

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read. It was an interesting story from the area I am from, and would have loved to hear it in a more unbiased fashion. The author glosses over the murder victim and tries to paint the murderer in with a sympathetic brush.

[Helen Spangler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written. In depth characters. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend this book to all my book worm friends and family.

[Marjo · Rating 4 out of 5]

incredibly interesting read

[Kathy Maher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really rate 3 1/2 stars.