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The Enigma Woman, The Enigma Woman, 0803211414, 0-8032-1141-4, 978-0-8032-1141-4, 9780803211414, By Kathleen A. Cairns
, Women in the West, The Enigma Woman, 0803206925, 0-8032-0692-5, 978-0-8032-0692-2, 9780803206922, By Kathleen A. Cairns
, Women in the West, The Enigma Woman, 0803224508, 0-8032-2450-8, 978-0-8032-2450-6, 9780803224506, Kathleen A. Cairns
, Women in the Wes
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The Enigma Woman
hardcover
2007.
316 pp.
15 photographs
978-0-8032-1141-4
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Out of Stock
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paperback
2009.
328 pp.
16 photographs
978-0-8032-2450-6
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 “Crack shot.” “Enigma woman.” “Good with ponies and pistols.” “A much-married woman.” What if such an unconventional woman—and the press unanimously agreed that Nellie May Madison was indeed unconventional—were to get away with murder? Shortly after her husband’s bullet-riddled body was found in the couple’s Burbank apartment, police issued an all-points bulletin for the “beautiful, dark-haired widow.” The ensuing drama unfolded with all the strange twists and turns of a noir crime novel. In this intriguing cultural history, Kathleen A. Cairns tells the true tale of the first woman sentenced to death in California, Nellie May Madison. Her story offers a glimpse into law and disorder in 1930s Los Angeles while bringing to life a remarkable character whose plight reflects on the status of woman, the workings of the media and the judiciary system, and the stratification of society in her time. An intriguing cultural history, Cairns’s re-creation of the case from murder to trial to aftermath casts an eye forward to our own love-hate affair with celebrity crimes and our abiding ambivalence about domestic violence abuse as a defense for murder.  Kathleen A. Cairns is a lecturer in the Department of History at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. She is the author of Front-Page Women Journalists, 1920–1950 (Nebraska 2003).  “This is a beautifully written and exhaustively researched account of a fascinating murder case. Part true-crime, part gender history, this page-turner examines the trial and commutation campaign of Nellie May Madison, whose case foreshadowed the use of the battered woman defense. Despite her ultimate decision to emphasize her husband's abuse, Madison was no victim. She was a complex woman who shaped her own destiny. Kathleen Cairns brings her case to life and illuminates profound changes in women's roles in twentieth-century U.S. history.”—Kathryn S. Olmsted, author of Red Spy Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth Bentley “Nellie was pegged by the media as a femme fatale, a character out of a noir tale. The author has done considerable research in this well-written true crime chronicle, but what happened in Nellie’s bedroom in 1934 still remains an enigma.”—Publishers Weekly “A new book out this month finally tells us the entire tale of Nellie Madison for the first time, and it is so terrifically researched, so well put together, you might forget the story took place in 1934. . . . It’s a physically lovely, beautifully produced book. . . . The Enigma Woman is top-shelf stuff for votaries of high quality historic crime stories. Professor Cairns will keep you mesmerized in contemplation of a most curious murder case, one in which our recalcitrant heroine could not speak until she was within the shadows of the gallows, one in which the victim may well have had it coming in spades and by golly got it.”—Laura James, CLEWS, The Historic Crime Blog “By charting Madison’s experiences from the 1910s to the 1940s, Cairns offers critical insight on the deeds and misdeeds of one remarkable woman, who in many regards was a victim herself. By framing events the way she does, Cairns gives Madison’s story the context it needs and deserves.”—Christina Eng, San Francisco Chronicle “Cairns tells her story with considerable sociological and psychological acuity. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this tale is how the cut-and-dried, seemingly heartless justice system of the 1930s ultimately produced a punishment that was just and enlightened and would generally satisfy today’s more liberal attitudes toward spousal abuse and homicide.”—The Atlantic Monthly “Cairns writes the story so well that the actual facts of the case unfold in the same way that the general public must have learned of them seventy years ago. The compelling story and Cairns’ captivating writing keeps you turning each page wondering what will happen next in this horrific case. . . . Combining a critique of social norms and the power that the media has over profiling criminals, with the events of one woman’s astounding life, Cairns’ historical text is a pleasure to read on multiple levels. It’s smart, well written, and astonishingly addictive.”—Feminist Review "[The Enigma Woman] is a well-written account that will appeal to readers in history, women’s studies, journalism, and law."—Barbara G. Friedman, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication “Cairns’s book should be read by anyone who wants a peek at how the U.S. justice system treated female killers decades ago, before the recognition of the ‘battered woman’ defense. . . Cairn’s writes in crisp, engaging prose, and this book clearly deserves an audience beyond the confines of the academy.”—John D. Bessler, H-Net Book Reviews
“Media scholars will note with interest Cairns’ descriptions of the ‘salacious and sensational’ practices of the Hearst and other newspapers that covered the Enigma Woman. . . . Historians interested in archival work will read with interest not only her notes but the terrific bibliographic essay that describes in depth her exhaustive research. . . . This is an entertaining and enlightening work.”—Journalism History “This is an outstanding biography of a woman who challenged societal norms. . . . In this splendidly crafted narrative of Nellie’s life, Cairns explores the West as geography and a place of reinvention, the rise of mass popular culture and its impact upon the individual, Los Angeles as myth and reality, criminal prosecution as a force in social control, the media’s ability to elevate or destroy individuals, and intimate abuse as a legal defense to murder. . . . This book is a major contribution to our knowledge of women in the American West.”—Gordon Morris Bakken, Western Historical Quarterly
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