Read This, Then That: Double the Mystery With Two True Crime Picks

Read This, Then That features literary pairings for the voracious reader. As big readers ourselves we know you always want your next book picked out before you finish your current one, so let us help you out with a two-fer recommendation.

This inaugural Read This, Then That column is for lovers of true crime books. We’ve got two historical Canadian true crime stories that share some similar traits. Both crimes stirred up much controversy in their respective communities of Montreal and Vancouver, centring on issues of race, class, gender, and privilege.

*****

Portrait of a Scandal: The Abortion Trial of Robert Notman by Elaine Kalman Naves
(Vehicule Press)

If People magazine were around in 1868 Montreal then the Notman family would have been the cover story for weeks and months that year with a titillating tale of seduction, abortion, and suicide.

The Notman name up until that time had been synonymous with art and fine culture. The seduction of a young McGill Normal School student changed that.

William, the elder Notman brother, was becoming a famous photographer after the family emigrated from Scotland looking to make their mark, capturing the likes of royalty, Governors General, and the Fathers of Confederation with his lens.

His brother Robert, however, was drawn into sexual misconduct. He seduced the beautiful and ambitious Margaret Galbraith, then arranged an abortion for her with an up-and-coming young doctor who soon after committed suicide. Shortly after Robert was put on trial. Not unlike today, society distanced itself from the scandal while lapping up every detail.

Who Killed Janet Smith? by Edward Starkins (Anvil Press)

Twenty-two-year-old Janet Smith was a Scottish nursemaid living with a wealthy family in an exclusive Vancouver neighbourhood. In 1924 she was found shot and killed in the basement of the home. The circumstances that followed have made this case one of the most infamous unsolved murder cases in Canada.

Who Killed Janet Smith? investigates the possibilities of what really happened to Janet Smith. She was alone in the house at the time of the murder except for her charge, baby Rosemary, and a fellow employee of the family. Police failed to properly collect evidence and concluded that her death was self-inflicted but accidental.

The case was re-opened after concerned friends contacted the United Council of Scottish Societies. While there were theories of wild parties and cover-up conspiracies, the eventual investigation focussed on the fellow employee, Wong Foon Sing, who became the victim of a racially-motivated kidnapping.