The Trials of Laura Fair: Sex, Murder, and Insanity in the Victorian West

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The Trials of LAURA FAIR The Trials of LAURA FAIR SEX, MURDER, AND INSANITY IN THE VICTORIAN WEST Carole Haber The University of North Carolina PressChapel Hill © 2013 The University of North Carolina Press All rights reserved Set in Miller by codeMantra Manufactured in the United States of America Frontispiece: Portrait of Laura D. Fair, c. 1870. (Courtesy of Special Collections Department, University of Nevada–Reno Library.) The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. The University of North Carolina Press has been a member of the Green Press Initiative since 2003. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Haber, Carole The trials of Laura Fair : sex, murder, and insanity in the Victorian West / Carole Haber. pages cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4696-0758-0 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Fair, Laura D., 1837–1919—Trials, litigation, etc. 2. Crittenden, Alexander Parker, 1816–1870. 3. Trials (Murder)— California—San Francisco. I. Title. KF223.F34H33 2013 345.794'025230949461—dc23 2013002880 17 16 15 14 135 4 3 2 1 To Noah and Emma, and the wonderful adults they have grown to be This page intentionally left blank ...