(Revamping the blog. Please excuse the odd headings. Working on it!)

Writing History & Mysteries

When I'm not delving into historical research, I'm planning a character's demise.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

Bread and Butter Murders 04

Hoag Family Plot - Alabama Center Cemetery, Alabama, NY
SETUP: Last time we left off with Polly's sister Julia insisting it was Polly's husband, Henry, who wanted the arsenic to kill rats, not Polly. Julia also testified that it was Henry who mixed the poison in the meal and Polly was outside at the time and had no idea where Henry put the rest of it. We know this was not the case as Henry was sick for several days, Many friends came to visit him until they thought he had chorea. And now the snippet.


Henry was sick for ten days before he felt any better. Selah Vosburg testified he went to visit Henry only once for fear he had cholera morbus again and he knew it was catchy. Selah said he had known Henry for a long time and had never known him to be sickly, although he saw nothing odd in Polly’s behavior to make him suspect her of any wrong doing.

All had said they saw no lack of attention on Polly’s part towards her husband. It is our opinion that Polly did poison her husband, but not enough to kill him yet. She wanted all to believe that she was a devoted wife. Polly also wanted everyone to believe that Henry was a sickly man and would always be so. When she finally killed him no one would suspect a thing.

***
BLURB:
In 1856, in the rural town of Alabama, NY one woman's family suffered from multiple unexplained deaths. The town folk grew suspicious of the now remarried Polly Frisch. An investigation commenced, bodies were exhumed, an affair—exposed. Polly would be arrested for the murders of her first husband and daughters. Her fourteen-year-old son would testify against her. If found guilty, the punishment for such a crime was the gallows. Bread & Butter is the true story of Polly Frisch who poisoned her family with arsenic and the five trials it took to convict her. 

The link to the other Weekend Writing Warriors is here. You're bound to find something to pique your interest.

The Sunday Snippet writer's on Facebook are here. Between the two there is something for everyone. Thank you for any comments you leave me. Much appreciated!

**** 
The above excerpt is from Bread & Butter: The Murders of Polly Frisch, a book I co-authored with my friend, Ellen Bachorski in 2000. We are re-releasing it into the modern world of POD and Kindle, etc. with a new cover, fresh edits and new info. Due for release in February 2014.

Share:

18 comments:

  1. Nice snippet--the pieces are falling together.

    Nancy

    ReplyDelete
  2. She gets points for subtlety!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, you delve into the devious mind of Polly with this snippet. She would have been in fact right if only ... ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm officially creeped out. Polly was a deceitful creature. *shivers*

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow, what a cold and calculating woman! I'm starting to see how it took so many trials to convict her!

    It must be fascinating, poking around in history like you do, Cindy! :-)

    Good 8!

    ReplyDelete
  6. A shivery excerpt, Cindy. Wouldn't you have loved to be a fly on the wall in so many houses where Henry's death was discussed?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Polly has a devious mind---and it's interesting to see how the men never thought a woman could think of things like this . . .

    ReplyDelete
  8. If this was fiction rather than true crime, you'd be accused of writing something that couldn't have happened.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Wow, chilling stuff. But very well depicted! Another excellent excerpt. Did you watch the Lizzie Borden movie last night? Also well done, kind of in this vein you write so very well...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Intriguing. Look forward to reading more.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Was Polly a writer? ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ha, Frank, that's funny : ) February is right around the corner! Looking forward to it!

    ReplyDelete
  13. That's so terrifying! A lingering illness that someone intentionally caused...

    I wonder if she could have gotten away with it if she could fake emotion better?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good plan - curious to see if she got away with it

    ReplyDelete
  15. Quite the devious plot! Polly was a clever woman, for sure. :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Sue and Frank, I agree. If this was fiction I'd probably get nailed as five trials being unbelievable.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Patience is a very nice skill to have when murdering someone.

    ReplyDelete

Anyone can comment. You don't need to jump through hoops or be a member of anything. Nice huh?

Available in paperback and eBook formats

Available in paperback and eBook formats

Now Available At:

Barnes & Noble
Amazon
The History Press
Walmart

Carried by over 40 college/university libraries across the county, according to daily updates by worldcat.org, including Columbia University, Oklahoma State, Texas A & M, and Yale University Law Library.

Book Trailer

Weekend Writing Warriors

Weekend Writing Warriors
WeWriWa

Bread & Butter the Murders of Polly Frisch

Bread & Butter the Murders of Polly Frisch
Available on Amazon

Other Great Reads

Followers

Recent Posts

A to Z - 2015

A to Z - 2014

A to Z - 2014

A to Z - 2013

A to Z - 2013

Goodreads

Cindy's bookshelf: read

Waiting for Harvey
4 of 5 stars
Alone, in a cabin in the woods, with a ghost. Who could ask for more in a ghost story? Harvey starts right out with a hint of foreboding in a conversation between brothers John and Erik. Already my curiosity is roused as to what happened...
tagged: books-i-read-to-me
James Potter and the Curse of the Gate Keeper
3 of 5 stars
I randomly downloaded this on my iPad when I hit the wrong button being a bumble fingers, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I've never read fanfic before. It was pretty good. But like many other people, it still can't compare to J. K. Row...
CHIMERAS
5 of 5 stars
I beta read a few chapters of a different book by this author (one that isn't out yet) so when this one was out I had to read it as it was the same character in the one a betaed a bit of--the character of Track. I have a fondness for thi...
tagged: books-i-read-to-me

goodreads.com