Menu
Thursday, September 26, 2024

The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill: Abortion, Death, and Concealment in Victorian New England

Thursday, September 19
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Join us for this discussion of the new Bridgeport based true crime book The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill: Abortion, Death, and Concealment in Victorian New England with author Marcia Biederman!

This event will be in person and livestreamed.

Book details: 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.

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 social compacts that allowed their practice to flourish while abortion was both illegal and unregulated.

Jaime Pettit
Jaime Pettit serves as an Assistant Archivist at the Bridgeport History Center at the Bridgeport, Connecticut Public Library. She received a Masters' in Information Science at the University of Michigan and a Certification in Museum Studies at Harvard University. She has previously worked with the University of Michigan and Arizona State University's departments of archeology. Pettit's current projects combine her love for both history and writing to highlight interesting and lesser-known stories from Bridgeport and Connecticut.