
Jeannie's Demise
Abortion on Trial in Victorian Toronto
Ian Radforth(Author)
Between the Lines (Publisher)
Published on 1. February 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
258 pages
978-1-77113-513-9 (ISBN)
Description
Illegal. Underground. Deadly.
August 1, 1875, Toronto: The naked body of a young woman is discovered in a pine box, half-buried in a ditch along Bloor Street. So begins Jeannie's Demise, a real-life Victorian melodrama that played out in the bustling streets and courtrooms of "Toronto the Good," cast with all the lurid stock characters of the genre. Historian Ian Radforth brings to life an era in which abortion was illegal, criminal proceedings were a spectator sport, and coded advertisements for back-alley procedures ran in the margins of newspapers.
At the centre of the story is the elusive and doomed Jeannie Gilmour, a minister's daughter whose independent spirit can only be glimpsed through secondhand accounts and courtroom reports. As rumours swirl about her final weeks and her abortionists stand trial for their lives, a riveted public grapples with questions of guilt and justice, innocence and intent. Radforth's intensive research grounds the tragedy of Jeannie's demise in sharp historical analysis, presenting over a dozen case studies of similar trials in Victorian-era Canada.
Part gripping procedural, part meticulous autopsy, Jeannie's Demise opens a rare window into the hidden history of a woman's right to choose.
August 1, 1875, Toronto: The naked body of a young woman is discovered in a pine box, half-buried in a ditch along Bloor Street. So begins Jeannie's Demise, a real-life Victorian melodrama that played out in the bustling streets and courtrooms of "Toronto the Good," cast with all the lurid stock characters of the genre. Historian Ian Radforth brings to life an era in which abortion was illegal, criminal proceedings were a spectator sport, and coded advertisements for back-alley procedures ran in the margins of newspapers.
At the centre of the story is the elusive and doomed Jeannie Gilmour, a minister's daughter whose independent spirit can only be glimpsed through secondhand accounts and courtroom reports. As rumours swirl about her final weeks and her abortionists stand trial for their lives, a riveted public grapples with questions of guilt and justice, innocence and intent. Radforth's intensive research grounds the tragedy of Jeannie's demise in sharp historical analysis, presenting over a dozen case studies of similar trials in Victorian-era Canada.
Part gripping procedural, part meticulous autopsy, Jeannie's Demise opens a rare window into the hidden history of a woman's right to choose.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Ontario
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 226 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
295 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-77113-513-9 (9781771135139)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
11/2020
Between the Lines
€16.99
Available for download
Person
Ian Radforth is a Canadian social historian who taught for more than three decades in the department of history at the University of Toronto. He is the author of Bushworkers and Bosses: Logging in Northern Ontario, 1900-1980 and Royal Spectacle: The 1860 Visit of the Prince of Wales to Canada and the United States.
Content
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
Preface
Introduction
1. Jeannie and Her Family
2. Arthur and Alice
3. The Preliminary Hearing
4. Another Abortion Death
5. Botched Abortions
6. The Davis Trial
7. The Trial Continues
8. On Death Row
9. In Pursuit of the Seducer
10. Accessory after the Fact
11. Kingston
12. A Victorian Tragedy
Notes
Index
List of Illustrations
Preface
Introduction
1. Jeannie and Her Family
2. Arthur and Alice
3. The Preliminary Hearing
4. Another Abortion Death
5. Botched Abortions
6. The Davis Trial
7. The Trial Continues
8. On Death Row
9. In Pursuit of the Seducer
10. Accessory after the Fact
11. Kingston
12. A Victorian Tragedy
Notes
Index