The Goat Castle Murder

Before the Information Age, when “Crime of the Century” meant something, the public was unduly obsessed by murder. This was especially true during the Great Depression, when Americans were desperate for escapist fare. The more bizarre or glamorous the crime, the greater their fascination, and few intrigued them more than the brutal murder of rich recluse Jenny Merrill, on August 4, 1932, in the sleepy hamlet of Natchez, Mississippi. Once the darling of the belle époque smart set, Jennie had become a notorious recluse at her vast estate Glenburnie Manor where her only visitor was the "Mississippi Miser," her wealthy cousin Duncan Minor. Accused of the crime are avowed enemies Richard Dana and Octavia Dockery living next door at Glenwood, a once-fabled mansion so disgustingly derelict it's nicknamed Goat Castle. Once a Manhattan musical prodigy, Dana roams the hills in a gunny sack and waist length beard as the "Wild Man of Natchez," while Octavia, a Confederate general's daughter who attended New York's finest schools and wore gowns by Worth of Paris, is now known as the "Goat Woman." The rarefied realm of this eccentric quartet involved no less than General Robert E. Lee, Queen Victoria, King Leopold of Belgium, President Ulysses Grant, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, social reformer Jacob Riis and Charles Dana Gibson, creator of the Gibson Girl. Jennie’s death so captivated the Depression-era public that special trains from New Orleans were inaugurated to transport hordes of curiosity-seekers to Natchez, once a millionaire's playground, now a forgotten hamlet perched atop a Mississippi River bluff. They would be shocked by something far stranger than the bloody crime itself.“‘The blood drying under the Mississippi moon was the bluest in Natchez.’ How is that for a riveting opening line? Thus begins a brief prologue that leaves the reader eager to learn more about the 1932 murder of former socialite Jennie Surget Merrill, which the Natchez Democrat proclaimed to be a 'Most Brutal and Atrocious Crime.' The Goat Castle Murder is a recounting of the crime, but it’s also a fine piece of historical fiction and mystery novel as well. Impeccably written and rich with detail, The Goat Castle Murder is a provocative story of lost grandeur, peppered with elements of incest, insanity, and extreme eccentricity. What more could a reader want?” – Celeste Berteau, The Louisiana Advocate“For the reader who likes a good historical novel, this is a must. For the reader who likes an intricate who-done-it, this is also a must. For the reader who likes both, this is a gift.” —Gene Farrington, The Blue Heron Read more