CLUVERIUS. MY LIFE, TRIAL AND CONVICTION.
Richmond, Va: Published by S.J. Dudley, 1887. 4-1/2" x 5-1/2." 128pp, stitched in original printed wrappers [two stabholes in blank inner margin of wrappers]. "Second Edition, - Enlarged. 50 Cents" at head of front wrapper. Light wrapper wear. Very Good+.
This "enlarged" second edition, also published in 1887, includes an Appendix after page 112, the last page of the first edition. "The publisher has thought it best to append some sketch in the final act of the tragedy, and some extracts from the admirable interview furnished the Richmond Dispatch by Rev. W. E. Hatcher, who was his spiritual counsellor." The Appendix includes, as McDade notes, "an account of the execution."
"Cluverius came from one of the 'better' Virginia families. He had married Lillian Madison, a country girl, but had kept the marriage a secret from his family and friends. He finally had her come to Richmond, where he murdered her and threw her body into the reservoir. He was quickly traced, tried, and executed" [McDade].
"The body of Fannie Lillian Madison was found in Richmond's Old Reservoir on 14 March 1885. It was first believed Madison committed suicide, but evidence of a struggle suggested that she had been murdered. Madison's cousin Thomas J. Cluverius, a graduate of Richmond College and a lawyer in King and Queen and King William Counties, was indicted for her murder. Cluverius was convicted mostly on circumstantial evidence - the key piece of evidence being a watch key, supposedly belonging to Cluverius, which was found at the scene of the murder. The trial lasted from the 5 May to 4 June 1885, and Cluverius was hanged on 14 January 1887 despite several appeals." [A Guide to the Commonwealth of Virginia versus Thomas J. Cluverius, 1885. A Collection in the Library of Virginia]
Cluverius describes the murder scene, evidence, and trial; denies his guilt, protests his innocence, explains his relationship with the ill-fated Ms. Madison, and tells the story of his life.
FIRST EDITION. McDade 193. Haynes 3620. Item #40696
Price: $250.00