000			03922cam a2200457 i 4500
001			1259511448
003			MeVbMML
005			20230413112527.0
008			210702s2022 nyuab e b 001 0deng
010			_a2021024138
020			_a9781984879837
020			_a1984879839
020			_a9781984879851
020			_z9781984879844
035			_a(OCoLC)1259511448 _z(OCoLC)1290198661 _z(OCoLC)1290491724 _z(OCoLC)1295234257 _z(OCoLC)1295638097 _z(OCoLC)1296760840
040			_cAJM
042			_apcc
043			_an-us-ks
092			_a364.1523 _bJ81h 2022
100	1		_aJonusas, Susan, _eauthor _913275
245	1	0	_aHell's half-acre : _bthe untold story of the Benders, a serial killer family on the American frontier / _cSusan Jonusas
264		1	_a[New York, New York] : _bPenguin Books _c[2022]
300			_axxii, 283 pages : _billustrations, maps ; _c21.5 cm _enotes and bibliography
336			_atext _btxt _2rdacontent
337			_aunmediated _bn _2rdamedia
338			_avolume _bnc _2rdacarrier
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references (pages [327]-332) and index
505	0		_aIntroduction -- Labette County, Kansas -- The theater of a nation's struggle -- A nursery of moral monstrosities -- A revolting spectacle of crime made public -- In pursuit of murderers -- Bender or bust -- Epilogue
520			_a"In 1873 the people of Labette County in Kansas made a grisly discovery. Buried on a homestead seven miles south of the town of Cherryvale, in a bloodied cellar and under frost-covered soil, were countless bodies in varying states of decay. The discovery sent the local community and national newspapers into a frenzy that continued for over two decades, and the land on which the crimes took place became known as 'Hells Half-Acre.' When it emerged that a family of four known as the Benders had been accused of the slayings, the case was catapulted to infamy. The idea that a family of seemingly respectable homesteaders--one among thousands who were relocating further west looking for land and opportunity after the Civil War--were capable of operating 'a human slaughter pen' appalled and fascinated the nation. But who the Benders really were, why they committed such a vicious killing spree, and what became of them when they fled from the law is a mystery that remains unsolved to this day--not that there aren't some convincing theories. Part gothic western, part literary whodunnit, and part immersive study of postbellum America, Hell's Half-Acre sheds new light on one of the most notorious cases in our nation's history while holding a torch to a society under the strain of rapid change and moral disarray. Susan Jonasus draws on extensive original archival material, and introduces us to a fascinating cast of characters, including the despairing families of the victims as well as the fugitives that helped the murderers escape. Hell's Half-Acre is not simply a book about a mass murder. It is a journey into the turbulent heart of nineteenth century America, a place where modernity stalks across the landscape, violently displacing existing populations and wearily building new ones. It is a world where folklore can quickly become fact, and an entire family of criminals can slip right through a community's fingers, only to reappear at the most unexpected of times"-- _cProvided by publisher
600	3	0	_aBender family _913276
650		0	_aSerial murderers _zKansas _zLabette County _xHistory _y19th century _913277
650		0	_aFrontier and pioneer life _zKansas _913278
651		0	_aKansas _xHistory _y19th century _913279
655		0	_aBiography
655		2	_aBiography _0(DNLM)D019215 _913280
655		7	_aTrue crime stories. _2lcgft _98501
655		7	_aBiographies. _2lcgft _95221
776	0	8	_iOnline version: _aJonusas, Susan. _tHell's half-acre _dNew York : Viking, 2022 _z9781984879844 _w(DLC) 2021024139
907			_a.b173038190
942			_2ddc _cBOOK
999			_c28749 _d28749