Author Talk with Marcia Biederman

We will have author Marcia Biederman at the Museum to discuss her latest nonfiction book, “The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill: Abortion, Death, and Concealment in Victorian New England,” in which Lynn plays an important role.

Light refreshments will be served.

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, especially in Lynn, where they’d practiced for years before moving to Connecticut.

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.

About the author:

Marcia Biederman has contributed more than 150 articles to the New York Times, writing about everything from ice dancing to automobile wheel repair. She was a staff reporter for Crain’s New York Business and freelanced for New York magazine, the New York Observer, and Newsday. Before switching to nonfiction, she published three mystery novels and contributed a short story to Best of Sisters in Crime, edited by Marilyn Wallace.