And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank

By: Steven Oney

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Synopsis: The definitive account of one of American history&’s most repellent and most fascinating moments, combining investigative journalism and sweeping social history"Years later, the tale of murder and revenge in Georgia still has the power to fascinate...Intense, suspenseful.&” —The Washington Post Book WorldIn 1913, 13-year-old Mary Phagan was found brutally murdered in the basement of the Atlanta pencil factory where she worked. The factory manager, a college-educated Jew named Leo Frank, was arrested, tried, and convicted in a trial that seized national headlines. When the governor commuted his death sentence, Frank was kidnapped and lynched by a group of prominent local citizens.Steve Oney&’s acclaimed account re-creates the entire story for the first time, from the police investigations to the gripping trial to the brutal lynching and its aftermath. Oney vividly renders Atlanta, a city enjoying newfound prosperity a half-century after the Civil War, but still rife with barely hidden prejudices and resentments. He introduces a Dickensian pageant of characters, including zealous policemen, intrepid reporters, Frank&’s martyred wife, and a fiery populist who manipulated local anger at Northern newspapers that pushed for Frank&’s exoneration.