Trespassers at the Golden Gate - by Gary Krist (Hardcover)

About the Book

"The sensational true story of a woman who murdered her married lover in Gilded Age San Francisco, and the trial that turned this raucous frontier town into a modern metropolis-from the New York Times bestselling author of Empire of Sin"--

Book Synopsis

The sensational, forgotten true story of a woman who murdered her married lover in Gilded Age San Francisco and the trial that epitomized the city's transformation from raucous frontier town into modern metropolis--from the New York Times bestselling author of Empire of Sin

Shortly before dusk on November 3, 1870, just as the ferryboat El Capitan was pulling away from its slip into San Francisco Bay, a woman clad in black emerged from the shadows and strode across the crowded deck. Reaching under her veil, she drew a small pistol and aimed it directly at a well-dressed man sitting quietly with his wife and children. The woman fired a single bullet into his chest. "I did it and I don't deny it," she said when arrested shortly thereafter. "He ruined both myself and my daughter."

Though little remembered today, the trial of Laura D. Fair for the murder of her lover, A. P. Crittenden, made headlines nationwide. As bestselling author Gary Krist reveals, the operatic facts of the case--a woman strung along for years by a two-timing man, killing him in an alleged fit of madness--challenged an American populace still searching for moral consensus after the Civil War. The trial shone an early and uncomfortable spotlight on social issues like the role of women, the sanctity of the family, and the range of acceptable expressions of gender, while jolting the still-adolescent metropolis of 1870s San Francisco, a city eager to shed its rough-and-tumble Gold Rush-era reputation.

Trespassers at the Golden Gate brings readers inside the untamed frontier town, a place where--for a brief period--otherwise marginalized communities found unique opportunities. Readers meet a secretly wealthy Black housekeeper, an enterprising Chinese brothel madam, and a French rabble-rouser who refused to dress in sufficiently "feminine" clothing--as well as familiar figures like Mark Twain and Susan B. Anthony, who become swept up in the drama of the Laura Fair affair.

Krist, who previously brought New Orleans to vivid life in Empire of Sin and Chicago in City of Scoundrels, recounts this astonishing story and its surprisingly modern echoes in a rollicking narrative that probes what it all meant--both for a nation still scarred by war and for a city eager for the world stage.

Review Quotes

"From its dramatic opening, Krist's book backtracks to chart San Francisco's astonishing growth. . . . The author's evenhandedness and scrupulous adherence to the documentary record are worthy qualities in a writer of nonfiction."--The New York Times Book Review

"Krist's gripping book explores the scandal that led to the killing [of A.P. Crittenden] and the trials that ensued, while also delving into the social history of 19th-century Northern California as it underwent dramatic change."--The Washington Post

"A thrilling true-crime story as a lens through which to explore San Francisco's transformation from chaotic frontier town to modern metropolis."--New York Post

"Readers will enjoy the literary morsels as well as historical references such as the building of the first transcontinental railroad. . . . Krist writes vividly and engagingly."--Washington Examiner

"A vivid and dramatic retelling of a shocking story of betrayal and murder . . . Trespassers at the Golden Gate is a triumph of historical true crime writing . . . [and a] gem of a book."--Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

"Krist gives us many incredible moments in Trespassers at the Golden Gate: You'll learn how San Francisco went from a muddy pit of grifters and gamblers to one of the biggest cities in the country and what it was like to live in an era when the journey from Texas to California took six months over rough terrain."--Clarion-Ledger

"[The book] uses a love triangle gone wrong to tell a wider story about 19th-century San Francisco. . . . Krist helps us understand San Francisco's evolution--a city described by one of its early residents as 'an odd place . . . not created in the ordinary way, but hatched like chickens by artificial heat.'"--Wall Street Journal

"This top-shelf blend of history and entertainment is as edifying as it is exciting."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A tale of mad love, murder, and the rough-and-tumble mores of early San Francisco . . . [and] a lively, richly detailed social history that ably brings together many narrative strands."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A scrupulously documented tale of passion, ambition, and social mores set in San Francisco in the early 1870s . . . Krist elucidates a thoroughly engaging slice of history."--Booklist

"An amazingly rich and detailed work of nonfiction of keen interest to anyone interested in the history of the development of San Francisco . . . [Trespassers at the Golden Gate] is much more than a crime story."--Bay City News

"The book is a marvelous tour de force culminating in a trial that riveted the nation and exposed the sexual double standard even in this freewheeling town. The nation hung on every word, and believe me, you will, too."--Liza Mundy, New York Times bestselling author of Code Girls and The Sisterhood

"In Trespassers at the Golden Gate, Gary Krist accomplishes what good nonfiction does best, offering readers a fusion of murder, intrigue, and solid research that shines a light on the dark corners of society."--Kate Winkler Dawson, author of American Sherlock and The Sinners All Bow

"The Wild West in all its glory: the gold rush, adultery, and, ultimately, murder. Gary Krist draws an indelible portrait of the United States' tumultuous post-Civil War history."--Judith Flanders, author of The Invention of Murder and A Place for Everything

About the Author

Gary Krist is the author of four previous narrative nonfiction books The White Cascade, City of Scoundrels, Empire of Sin, and The Mirage Factory. He has also written three novels and two short story collections. A widely published journalist and book reviewer, Krist has been the recipient of the Stephen Crane Award, the Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Lowell Thomas gold medal for travel journalism, a fiction fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, and a Public Scholar grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.