Who killed Dr. Harvey Burdell in his opulent Manhattan town house? At once a gripping mystery and a richly detailed excavation of a lost age, 31 Bond Street is a spellbinding tale of murder, sex, greed, and politics in 1857 New York. Author Ellen Horan interweaves fact and fiction—reimagining the sensational nineteenth-century crime that rocked the city a few short years before the Civil War ripped through the fabric of the nation, while transporting readers back to a time that eerily echoes our own. Though there are no clues to the brutal slaying of wealthy Dr. Burdell, suspicion quickly falls on Emma Cunningham, the refined, pale-skinned widow who managed his house and servants. An ambitious district attorney seeks a swift conviction, but defense attorney Henry Clinton is a formidable obstacle—a man firmly committed to justice and the law, and to the cause of a frightened, vulnerable woman desperately trying to save herself from the gallows.
Ellen Horan Book order
Ellen Horan breathes life into historical figures with astonishing freshness, as if they've stepped newly minted from her vivid imagination. Her narratives are gripping and elegantly written, weaving legal thrillers with sharp insights into sex, class, and politics. Horan masterfully blends historical fiction, courtroom drama, and factual events into compelling crime stories, showcasing her exceptional storytelling talent. Drawing on her background in art and history, she crafts a unique literary style that immerses readers in bygone eras.


- 2011
- 2010
31 Bond Street
- 352 pages
- 13 hours of reading
Who killed Dr. Harvey Burdell in his opulent Manhattan town house? At once a gripping mystery and a richly detailed excavation of a lost age, 31 Bond Street is a spellbinding tale of murder, sex, greed, and politics in 1857 New York. Author Ellen Horan interweaves fact and fiction--reimagining the sensational nineteenth-century crime that rocked the city a few short years before the Civil War ripped through the fabric of the nation, while transporting readers back to a time that eerily echoes our own. Though there are no clues to the brutal slaying of wealthy Dr. Burdell, suspicion quickly falls on Emma Cunningham, the refined, pale-skinned widow who managed his house and servants. An ambitious district attorney seeks a swift conviction, but defense attorney Henry Clinton is a formidable obstacle--a man firmly committed to justice and the law, and to the cause of a frightened, vulnerable woman desperately trying to save herself from the gallows.