Sudden Deaths in St. Louis: Coroner Bias in the Gilded Age

The scene of myriad grisly deaths, late 19th-century St. Louis was a hotbed for homicide, suicide, alcoholism, abortion and workplace accidents. The role of the city’s Gilded Age coroners has not been fully examined, contextualized or interrogated until now. Former William E. Foley Research Fellow Sarah E. Lirley investigates the process in which these outcomes were determined, finding coroners’ rulings were not uniform, but rather varied by who was conducting the inquest. These fascinating case studies explore the lives of the deceased, as well as their families, communities, press coverage of the events and the coroners themselves. Lirley’s book highlights the stories of ordinary men and women whose lives were tragically cut short, and the injustice they received even after death.