The Widow's Trial - Hardcover

Ehle, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 006016154X ISBN 13: 9780060161545

Publisher: Harpercollins, 1898

Synopsis

Brutalized by her sadistic, drug-dealing husband, a charming woman on trial for his murder must battle the macho tradition that pervades her North Carolina mountain town

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Plover is the brutal, sexually magnetic macho man who causes a sensational murder trial in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. He has been killed by his second wife, Winnette, whose naive and winsome ways are a concern to her friend and co-worker at the jeans factory, Mavis, who had been Plover's first wife. Mavis wonders anxiously about Winnette, "What if she made a gentleman of Plover? What if he came to be dependable and sober?" It turns out, however, that all of Plover's ugly traits--drug using and -running, sadism--were revealed in his brief, explosive marriage to Winnette. At the trial, we hear unabashedly from everyone--judge, jury, court psychiatrist, Mavis, as well as Winnette--and find that the defendant's very special appeal makes the hard-won verdict ring true. A wealth of humor and underlying rue distinguish this entertaining novel, developed through alternating viewpoints, and accurately reflecting Southern voices and sensibilities. Ehle ( Last One Home ) has a deft touch, a sure grasp of character and, here, a diverting story.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

In some mountain coves of North Carolina, "for better or for worse" still means just that. Winnette knew Ernest Lloyd Plover to be a hard-drinking, drug-pushing, gun-carrying, abusive man before she married him, didn't she? Then she shot him dead in self-defense--or premeditated murder. Her trial proceeds through the testimony of witnesses and the pronouncements of the crotchety judge, the rookie DA, and the retired lawyer court-appointed to defend her. No Perry Mason antics here; just plain mountain people trying to arrive at justice. Characterizations are strong, the descriptions of wife abuse even more so. While not of the quality of Ehle's The Winter People ( LJ 3/15/82) and Last One Home ( LJ 9/1/84), this is still recommended for public libraries.
- Maurice Taylor, Brunswick Cty. Lib., Southport, N.C.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harpercollins
• Publication date: 1898
• ISBN 10: 006016154X
• ISBN 13: 9780060161545
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 227