Butterfield 8by John O'Hara | |
| Category: |
"Fiction - General" |
|---|---|
| Pages: | 310 |
| Year of Publication: | 1935 |
| Date Added: | 08/08/2006 |
| Date Read: | 02/20/1993 |
| Notes: | Butterfield 8 is based on a real incident. On June 8, 1931, the dead body of a young woman named Starr Faithfull was found on Long Beach, Long Island. Subsequent reporting uncovered a life of easy morals and much time spent in speakeasies and such piquant details as her childhood molestation by a former mayor of Boston. Despite rumors of political motives for her murder and a supposed secret diary, no one was ever charged in her death. O'Hara recreates her as Gloria Wandrous, and introduces her on the novel's first page as follows: On this Sunday morning in May, this girl who later was to be the cause of a sensation in New York, awoke much too early for her night before. One minute she was asleep, the next she was completely awake and dumped into despair. |
| My Rating: | 3 |