Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis Hardcover – October 7, 2014

*Starred Review* "This is a captivating account, and readers will quickly become absorbed in the suspense surrounding Freda’s murder. Additionally, the book provides a foundation for discussion of sociocultural themes, such as how LGBT relationships have historically been viewed by society, gender and femininity, and even journalism." - School Library Journal

"The murder was a national sensation at the time, but is little known today. ....Alexis Coe retells it here with the color and liveliness of a novel. Her account is accompanied by illustrations of the people, scenes, and artifacts that populate this story of forbidden love." - The New Yorker

"The story of a Gilded Age-era homicide that stunned a nation with its sheer violence and tabooed origins. Haunted for years about the case, media columnist and historian Coe chronicles a 19th-century, Memphis, Tennessee-based ordeal of coldblooded murder and the jilted lesbian love that inspired it. … A historically resonant reminder of how far societal tolerance has come and that it still remains a work in progress." - Kirkus Reviews

“[A] lively, provocative history….a well-written effort that makes the most of its source material on two levels, both as true crime and as social commentary” - Publishers Weekly

"This thoroughly researched exposé considers a murder that took place in Victorian-era Memphis. …This selection might attract fans of true crime, such as Erik Larson’s Devil in the White City (2003), although the content concentrates more on the historical setting than intrigue or suspense. This could also serve as a gritty rebuttal to idealized period romances extolling the virtues of demure and genteel femininity." - Booklist

"Alexis Coe’s intricately researched, nonfiction Alice + Freda Forever: A Murder in Memphis depicts the destructive power of love. It centers on the relationship between Alice Mitchell, 19, and Freda Ward, 17, two girls living in Tennessee during the 1890s. …While Coe establishes a thrilling, almost lurid tone (“Razor in hand, she sprinted back up the hill, leaving the love of her life bleeding on the railroad tracks”), once she’s whet the appetites of her readers, she uses the relationship and murder as a springboard for exploring deeper issues of gender and sexuality during the 19th century…. Reminiscent of Peter Jackson’s film Heavenly Creatures (which in turn was based on actual events), an account of two teenagers who are compelled to murder to protect their intense, almost incestuous friendship, Alice + Freda Forever will not only attract teens and adults alike for its gripping treatment of love gone dreadfully wrong—it will force them to think critically from both a historical and sociocultural perspective." - School Library Journal, Curriculum Connections

*A Must-Read Book for the Fall* "A case of a teenage murderess and a forbidden love? This real life tale by historian and columnist for The Toast has it all. Based on rich research, including the love letters between Alice and Freda, their relationship was going to break boundaries, until it ended in tragedy. Gripping and fascinating." - Flavorwire

"Alexis Coe's historical nonfiction Alice + Freda Forever tells the real — and tragic — story of 19-year-old murderess Alice Mitchell, who in 1892 killed the young woman she was engaged to when they were forced apart after their relationship was discovered. The book includes 100 illustrated love letters, maps, artifacts, historical documents, newspaper articles, courtroom proceedings, and intimate domestic scenes." - Popsugar, Books We're Dying to Read

"With Alice and Freda Forever, Alexis Coe takes this fascinating true tale and brings it to literary life through love letters, newspaper articles, courtroom testimonies, maps, and school catalogs — all culled into one vivid narrative. With shimmering prose, careful research, and eloquent analysis, Coe weaves an absorbing tale of crime and passion, violence and discrimination, gender and femininity, lust and the all-consuming power of love — a tale that gives these teenage lovers a voice to echo above the clamor of a scandal." - Bustle

"Alice and Freda's tragic story gives a fascinating glimpse of 19th Century America's attempts to comprehend passion it has no language to acknowledge. Hauntingly enhanced by Sally Klann's illustrations, Alexis Coe's skillful research and documentation never distract from her heartbreaking narrative." - Elizabeth Wein, New York Times bestselling author of Code Name Verity

 

"Though the history recounted in Alexis Coe's Alice + Freda Forever is captivating in its own right, Coe also provides a larger context for it, elevating this to the level of a societal indictment. This story of a star-crossed love with a violent ending at times reads like a microcosm of Memphis at the end of the 19th century. As Coe's narrative delves into perceptions of sexuality and the ways in which the case touched on different aspects of daily life, it never loses sight of the tragic romance at its core." - Tobias Carroll, Managing Editor, Vol.1 Brooklyn

 

“With prose that simmers with intellect and longing, conscience and sly eloquence, Alexis Coe has finally granted Alice and Freda the one thing they so desperately lacked in life: the grace of a story beautifully told.” - Avi Steinberg, author of Running the Books

 

"Alexis Coe rescues a buried but extraordinarily telling episode from the 1890's that resonates in all sorts of ways with today. That in itself would be an accomplishment. But this is a book that is truly riveting, a narrative that gallops. Lizzy Borden eat your heart out. Here's a real crime of passion. Or was it? "And so Alice carried the razor around every day in her dress pocket, just in case Freda came to town…" I dare you to pick this one up and try, just try to put it down." - Peter Orner, author of Last Car Over the Sagamore Bridge and Esther Stories