SIX CAPSULES: THE GILDED AGE MURDER OF HELEN POTTS

This evening I received a gold medal from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association for my book Six Capsules: The Gilded Age Murder of Helen Potts.

I also recently received notification that Six Capsules is a finalist in the Royal Palm Literary Award Competition which is held by the Florida Writers Association. The winners will be announced in October.

"SIX CAPSULES" PUBLISHED

Six Capsules is officially published now, and Amazon has apparently sold out already. They began by offering it at a steeply reduced price, and the next thing I knew, the price was back up and they were saying that they only had one copy left. Now if you go to the Amazon page for the book, they have an announcement saying that they will deliver the book within one to two months. I'm pleased that the book seems to be selling well, but disappointed that Amazon didn't begin by stocking more books.

We've gotten some notice of the book on the web. The website "Clouded in Mystery" has written a nice review of the book [SEE REVIEW HERE], and the New York History Blog has published an article on it. [SEE ARTICLE HERE].

I'm lining up some book talks, and the first is going to be at the Alachua County Library District's headquarters, which I believe to be located at 401 East University Avenue in Gainesville. I'm slated to give the talk on August 25 at 2:30 PM.

SIX CAPSULES PUBLICATION DATE

My latest book, Six Capsules: The Gilded Age Murder of Helen Potts, comes out on May 14, 2019. Here is the language from the back cover of the book:


“Very few historical nonfiction writers capture the essence of an era. Fewer do that with the grace and talent of a novelist. George Dekle not only presents the story of what could be the first #MeToo moment in American history—complete with deception, psychopathy, murder, and justice—but elevates his narrative by compassionately showcasing victim Helen Potts’s role in American history as a forgotten martyr for women’s rights. An incredible book, Six Capsules is the first must-read of the spring 2019 season ... teeming with vitality, integrity, insight, new information ... delving into the dark elements of a society long forgotten. A stimulating, lavish and page-turning narrative.”—New York Times bestselling author M. William Phelps


“‘Was an innocent man murdered by the State of New York?’ Dekle deftly, and broadly, addresses that question on two fronts—yesterday, through a detailed deconstruction of the late 19th century trial proceedings, and today, from his perch as both prosecutor and law professor emeritus.”—William L. Tabac, author of The Insanity Defense and the Mad Murderess of Shaker Heights: Examining the Trial of Mariann Colby


As Ted Bundy was to the 20th century, so Carlyle Harris was to the 19th. Harris was a charismatic, handsome young medical student with an insatiable appetite for sex. His trail of debauched women ended with Helen Potts, a beautiful young woman of wealth and privilege who was determined to keep herself pure for marriage. Unable to conquer her by other means, Harris talked her into a secret marriage under assumed names, and when threatened with exposure, he poisoned her.


The resulting trial garnered national headlines and launched the careers of two of New York’s most famous prosecutors, Francis L. Wellman and William Travers Jerome. It also spurred vigorous debate about Harris’s guilt or innocence, the value of circumstantial evidence, the worth of expert testimony, and the advisability of the death penalty. Six Capsules traces Harris’s crime and his subsequent trial, and highlights what has been overlooked, the decisive role that the second-class status of women in Victorian Era culture played in this tragedy.


George R. Dekle Sr. served as a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, where he directed the Prosecution Clinic. His most recent book, Prairie Defender: The Murder Trials of Abraham Lincoln, won a Superior Achievement Award for Scholarship from the Illinois State Historical Society and Gold Medals for Biography and Politics from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association.

SIX CAPSULES: THE GILDED AGE MURDER OF HELEN POTTS

My latest book is nearing publication. and I am quite happy about how things are going with it. Unlike some previous publishers I've worked with, Kent State University Press did not ask for my input on cover design, which is fine with me. Most other publishers who have asked completely ignored my suggestions. I think KSU Press did a jam-up job of designing the cover. It is period appropriate, and it includes the one thing that I thought should go on the cover, a depiction of the murder weapon. Of course, I had no idea how to depict the poisoned capsule or what else to put on the cover.

Another thing that KSU Press did was change my title without asking me about it. This is completely alright with me, too. Other publishers have involved me in the tedious process of changing my working title, and it was a gigantic pain in the neck. Besides, KSU Press came up with a far better title than the one I had given the book. Six Capsules: The Carlyle Harris Murder Case just isn't as good as Six Capsules: The Gilded Age Murder of Helen Potts.

The third thing I really like about what KSU has done comes in pricing. It's more important to me that as many people as possible can afford to buy a copy than it is to make money from sales. The modest price of the book compared to most of my previous books is a definite plus.

The publication date is mid-May of next year, but you can pre-order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble now. The book hasn't been on the Amazon website long, but it is already climbing the charts.

What's the book about, besides the murder of a beautiful young lady? This Annotated Table of Contents can give you an idea without giving away too much.

ANNOTATED TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1: The Sleep of Morpheus—Describes how Helen Potts died from morphine poisoning at the Comstock School in New York City, and how suspicion immediately fell upon her supposed friend, medical student Carlyle Harris.

Chapter 2: The Secret Marriage—Tells how Harris met and became infatuated with Helen and traces their romance up to and through their contracting a secret marriage.

Chapter 3: The Sacred Marriage—Describes how Helen’s mother learned of the secret marriage and began pressuring Harris to enter into a “sacred [public] marriage” with Helen, a move which Harris vehemently opposed. 

Chapter 4: A World of Concern for Harris—Recounts the aftermath of Helen’s death: the coroner’s botched investigation and inquest, the media firestorm, Harris’s expulsion from medical school, and the bringing of charges against Harris with the District Attorney.

Chapter 5: Working Up a Case on Harris—Describes how Assistant District Attorneys Francis Wellman and Charles Simms reassembled the broken pieces of the coroner’s botched investigation and were able to amass enough evidence to indict Harris.

Chapter 6: Wellman States His Case Against Harris—Analyzes and critiques Wellman’s opening statement.

Chapter 7: The Prosecution Case Week One—Describes the course of the trial through the first week. Critiques both the prosecution’s presentation and the defense put up by Harris's attorneys,  William Travers Jerome and John Taylor.

Chapter 8: The Prosecution Case Week Two—Describes the course of the trial through the second week. Continues the critiques of both the prosecution’s presentation and Harris's defense.

Chapter 9: The Defense Case Day One—Describes how the defense suffered when Wellman's cross-examination undermined their star witness.

Chapter 10: The Defense Case Day Two—Tells of the efforts of the defense to make up the ground lost on the first day of the defense case.

Chapter 11: Taylor Sums Up—Analyzes and critiques defense attorney Taylor’s final argument.

Chapter 12: Wellman Sums Up—Analyzes and critiques prosecutor Wellman’s final argument. Describes the reaction to the verdict.

Chapter 13: New Evidence?—Tells how a new defense lawyer, William Howe, took over the post-conviction litigation and marshaled a host of witnesses who stood ready to testify that Helen Potts was a morphine addict who had killed herself with an accidental overdose.

Chapter 14: The Rains Commission—Describes Howe’s media campaign to pressure Governor Roswell P. Flower into reopening the case. Tells how Flower submitted the case to a commissioner to give him recommendations on how to proceed with the case.

Chapter 15: The Curtain Falls—Tells the aftermath of Commissioner Raines's written report to the governor.

Epilog: The Carlyle Harris Case Today—Discusses how the Harris case might play out today in a modern courtroom with a modern forensic investigation.