An American Tragedy in Auburn: The Murder Case that Rocked the Nation

This event will be held at the Carriage House Theater.

In the summer of 1906 the entire country found itself caught in the grips of a stunning murder case: Chester Gillette's brutal killing of his romantic partner on Big Moose Lake in the Adirondacks. That story, followed by Gillette's subsequent trial, became the basis of Theodore Dreiser's famous novel, An American Tragedy, as well as the film, A Place in the Sun. It was a story that ended in Auburn, with Gillette's imprisonment and execution at Auburn Prison.

The riveting true crime drama was re-examined afresh in 2006 with the discovery of a diary Gillette had kept while on Death Row. The account provides a fascinating view of Chester's 18-month stay at Auburn Prison as he gradually came to face his sentence in the electric chair. Gillette's diary, as well as his prison letters, were co-edited for publication by Jack Sherman.

Sherman re-investigates the legacy of the Gillette case step-by-step, more than a century later. A retired Acting Supreme and County Judge in Ithaca, New York, Sherman began his research on the Chester Gillette case with his first job as an Assistant District Attorney in Herkimer County. There he wrote and directed a re-enactment of the trial based upon the original trial transcript.

Admission: Members $10, General Public $15
Reservations Recommended