The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case

Dean Jobb, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine As the resurgence of white supremacy and segregation loom in the background, Ross's richly detailed account keeps readers engaged -- and guessing.

The Journal of African American History This is not just an incredibly detailed work, but also a compelling page-turner in its own right, with secrets and lies tumbling forth as the detective behind it all-the historian-struggles to uncover the truth ... The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case reads like the best of true-crime writing: a story masterfully told but, at its heart, a profound meditation about the world that could have been, when the arc of the moral universe bent a little more closely toward justice.

Mia Brett, Law and History Review The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case offers a rich narrative of a fascinating case caught in the middle of Reconstruction politics and racial change Ross' strengths lie in his narrative style and his ability to draw the reader in to the individual events and characters of the story while emphasizing their larger importance The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case is an exciting and illuminating read about a complicated time and place in America's racial history. Ross' attention to the details of his historic characters adds an important dimension to the story and draws our attention to the stakes of one criminal case to the future of biracial government during Reconstruction.

Alecia Long, Journal of the Civil War Era
Ross's book will appeal to a wide range of readers both within and beyond the academy. If their experience is like my own, they will find the book fascinating, enlightening, and...entertaining. One wishes many other books produced by professional historians could manage these important tasks as seamlessly as Ross does here, especially when integrating the history of one of the nation's most controversial and complex eras.

Preston Lauterbach, Wall Street Journal Ross decisively helms the story, introducing a sparkling cast of characters and turning the pages with just the right mix of action, suspense and intrigue.

Lawrence N. Powell, author of The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans Michael Ross' The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case has all the elements one might expect from a legal thriller set in nineteenth-century New Orleans. Child abduction and voodoo. 'Quadroons.' A national headline-grabbing trial. Plus an intrepid creole detective.... A terrific job of sleuthing and storytelling, right through to the stunning epilogue.

and the complex world it reveals.Kevin Boyle, author of Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age When little Mollie Digby went missing from her New Orleans home in the summer of 1870, her disappearance became a national sensation. In his compelling new book Michael Ross brings Mollie back. Read The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case for the extraordinary story it tells

Dan T. Carter, University of So...

Michael A. Ross is Professor of History at the University of Maryland. He is the author of the prize-winning Justice of Shattered Dreams: Samuel Freeman Miller and the Supreme Court during the Civil War Era.

Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: A Kidnapping in the Back of Town Chapter 2: Detective John Baptiste Jourdain and His World Chapter 3: A Trace of a Missing Child? Chapter 4: A Knock at the Digbys' Door Chapter 5: The Arrest of the Alleged Accessories Chapter 6: The Woman in the Seaside Hat Chapter 7: The Recorder's Court Chapter 8: A Highly Unusual Proceeding Chapter 9: Unveiling the Mystery Chapter 10: The Case "That Excited All New Orleans" Afterword and Acknowledgments Notes Index