In this true story, Idanna Pucci, granddaughter of one of the key players, recounts the turn-of-the-century murder trial of Italian immigrant Maria Barbella. Barbella was accused of murdering her lover, Domenico Cataldo, after he seduced her, then reneged on his promise to marry her. According to the story, Barbella slashed Cataldo's throat with a straight razor after he declared, "Only a pig can marry you!" After her first brutally swift and clearly illegal trial, Barbella was found guilty of first-degree murder and became the first woman sentenced to die in the electric chair. Hearing of Maria's plight, Pucci's great-grandmother, Cora Slocomb, organized an appeal that granted Maria a new trial and ultimately saved her life. The book is interesting for its portrayal of Italian immigrants (who were attacked during the first trial as being basically subhuman), but it also provides a thought-provoking look at early resistance to the death penalty and women's suffrage. --Kathleen Hughes

In 1895, Maria Barbella, a 22-year-old Italian immigrant who worked in a New York City sweatshop, was convicted of killing her abusive lover, Domenico Cataldo, because he refused to marry her, and thereby she became the first woman sentenced to die in the newly invented electric chair. Drawing on primary research in Italy and the U.S., Pucci, an Italian filmmaker and writer, has skillfully crafted Barbella's suspenseful story and, in addition, documented late-19th-century prejudice against Italian Americans and women, as well as the inhumane treatment of prisoners. Barbella was saved from death when Cora Slocomb, a U.S. citizen married to an Italian count (Pucci's great-grandmother), became convinced that Barbella had not intended to kill Cataldo, and she hired an attorney who managed to get his client retried and acquitted. Slocomb, at the same time, launched the first national campaign against the death penalty. Gripping social history. Photos not seen by PW. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

When Maria Barbella killed Domenico Cataldo in l895 after he seduced and then refused to marry her, she became the first woman sentenced to die in the electric chair. After reading about the trial, the author's great-grandmother, Cora Slocomb, Countess di Brazza, traveled to the United States to organize what was ultimately a successful appeal. Included in the well-written text are numerous quotes from the newspapers of the day, which clearly show how fascinated the Victorian public was by the trial. As with many headline-making trials today, the Barbella trial was tinged with issues of sex, women's rights, violence, capital punishment, and insanity. Were it not for the efforts of the Countess and one Mrs. Foster, "The Tombs Angel," Maria Barbella's fate would have rested in the hands of inept lawyers, deliberately deceitful reporters and editors, and a judge repaying political favors. A fascinating look at a century-old crime of passion that, with very few changes, could well be on today's TV tabloid news shows.‘Christine Moesch, Buffalo & Erie Cty. P. L., N.Y. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.