User:Nicolemerosola/sandbox

LEGACY:

- Impact of the whole case (on society, Saco)

- Reactions to the trails after the fact

- Short Stories (plot and reception) - ME

SHORT STORIES: info starts on page 60

INTRO

Mary Bean, The Factory Girl

Life of George Hamilton

RECEPTION

After a trial which left many citizens of Saco feeling that Caswell's death had gone unavenged, sensational fiction stories provided a clear and satisfying resolution to the Mary Bean case. The two most iconic pieces of fiction written about the case were Mary Bean, The Factory Girl and Life of George Hamilton. These "true crime" tales were loosely based on the true events of the murder of Berengera Caswell, but were highly dramatized and moralized to capture public interest. In these works of fiction, Caswell's name was replaced with her former alias Mary Bean, and William Long was framed as a dastardly villain called George Hamilton. The authors- "Miss J.A.B- resident of Manchester" and "Reverend Mr. Miller" -also combined the details of the Caswell case with the murder of Jonas Parker, further villainizing the "evil seducer George Hamilton" in the public's eye. These stories transformed the Caswell case into stereotypical works of sensational fiction.

Mary Bean, The Factory Girl tells a tale loosely based off of Berengera Caswells life, but with a considerable amount of fiction thrown in. In this story a beautiful but naive Mary Bean leaves her soon to be lover William Churchill for the seductive George Hamilton- who effectively ruins all aspects of her life. George takes her away from her home in Canada, impregnates her, attempts to abandon her, murders an innocent tax collector, and then has Mary's pregnancy terminated, which, in the end, takes her life. Its a classic tale of a young woman being taken advantage of- a narrative extremely common in the nineteenth century. This tale was written by an author known only as "Miss J.A.B" who aimed to warn others of what could potentially happen to young factory girls.

Life of George Hamilton continues the story told in Mary Bean, The Factory Girl, but focuses more on George Hamilton's fate after murdering Mary Bean. It was written by Reverend Mr Miller, who was inspired to continue the story told by Miss J.A.B. In this tale, George Hamilton frames his brother for the death of Mary Bean, but ultimately has his plot foiled when Mary's doctor confesses to the crime. This short story provides further closure to the Mary Bean tale, killing or imprisoning all the men who wronged her in the previous book.

Both of these stories were well received by Saco residents. They provided closure to the confusing and worrying death of Berengera Caswell by using a familiar fictional template.