The Glassmaker's Wife

Description

In August of 1844, a man named Leonard Reed takes violently ill at his home near Heathsville, Illinois, and four days later he is dead. The cause? Arsenic poisoning. The suspect? His wife, Betsey. The chief witnesses against her? A hired girl, Eveline Deal, and the local apothecary, James Logan. The evidence? Eveline claims she saw Betsey put a pinch of white powder in Leonard's coffee. Betsey Reed, a woman who dabbles in herbal healing, is known about town as a witch. As the gossip and the circumstantial evidence mount, Betsey finds herself under the shadow of a trial - and a noose. A historical crime inspired by the true story of Betsey Reed, for fans of The Trial of Lizzie Borden and The Good Sister, Lee Martin's latest weaves a tale of a pinch of white powder, a scorched paper, a community hungry for a villain, and a young girl's first taste of revenge - but above all, of the contradictions and imperfections of the human heart.

Lee Martin is the author of the novels, The Bright Forever, a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction; River of Heaven; Quakertown; Break the Skin; Late One Night, and Yours, Jean. A new memoir, Gone the Hard Road, came out in 2021. His other memoirs are From Our House, Turning Bones, and Such a Life. He is also the author of two short story collections, The Least You Need to Know, and The Mutual UFO Network. He is the co-editor of Passing the Word: Writers on Their Mentors and the author of a craft book. Telling Stories: The Craft of Narrative and the Writing Life. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in such places as Harper's, Ms., Creative Nonfiction, The Georgia Review, The Kenyon Review, Fourth Genre, River Teeth, The Southern Review, Prairie Schooner, Glimmer Train, The Best American Essays, and The Best American Mystery Stories. He is the winner of the Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Ohio Arts Council. He teaches in the MFA Program at The Ohio State University, where he is a College of Arts & Sciences Distinguished Professor, and where he was also the winner of the 2006 Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching.

Praise for Yours, Jean "Martin creates a subtle and intricate portrait of small-town mores and of the after echoes and reverberations, for those who've witnessed it, of sudden, shocking violence." -Kirkus Reviews "Based on the 1952 murder of Georgine Lyons, Martin's latest novel explores the crime and its repercussions. ... Each of those affected narrates her or his own perspective on the story, and the ensemble paints a rich picture of a crime, societal expectations, and the painful echoes in a small town that feels universal." -Booklist "Like his highly acclaimed The Bright Forever, Lee Martin's latest novel, Yours, Jean, is based on a true crime. And, like that earlier narrative, a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, the interplay of rich details and raw emotions that Martin so masterfully unfolds in his latest novel makes you ache for the lonely men and women he tenderly brings to life in this powerful story about a murder and the lasting impact it has on a close-knit community." -Linda Kass, Gramercy Books "Fantastic...Martin expertly weaves one storyline with another, and despite the many threads and characters, all remains clear. I read it in one sitting!...Highly recommended reading!" -Defrosting Cold Cases