In the winter of 1996, the writer Janet Malcolm received a letter from a stranger - a disbarred lawyer named Sheila McGough, who had recently been released from prison, and who wrote that she been convicted of crimes she had not committed. McGough's was an obscure fraud case, just as McGough herself was obscure: a fifty-four- year- old woman who when Malcolm met her 'looked and sounded like a blandly wholesome heroine of fifties movies', toiling in the lower reaches of the American legal profession. Malcolm, however, decided to look into her alleged crime. Out of her investigations and her compelling narration there emerges a startling portrait of American cupidity and American law, and of a woman too innocent to survive among either.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
‘Malcolm writes eloquently of the difficulty that journalism and the justice system have in establishing the truth’ -- Observer
‘Out of her investigations and her compelling narration there emerges a startling portrait of American cupidity and American law’ -- Greenock Telegraph
In the winter of 1996, Janet Malcolm received a letter from a stranger -- a disbarred lawyer named Sheila McGough, who had recently been released from prison, and who wrote that she had been convicted of crimes she had not committed. Malcolm decided to look into the case, and this book -- a dazzling work of journalism as well as a searching meditation on character, on the law, and on the incompatibility of narrative with truth -- is the product of her growing belief that a miscarriage of justice had taken place.
Sheila McGough was prosecuted and convicted because the government (and then the jury) interpreted her zealous representation of a con-man client named Bob Bailes as collaboration in his fraud. Malcolm's close readings of court records and her interviews with lawyers and businessmen connected with the case give a picture of American law and American cupidity that is startling in its pitiless specificity. And her portrait of Sheila McGough -- "a woman of almost preternatural honesty and decency", as well as maddening literal-mindedness and discursiveness -- brings an unconventional new heroine into vivid being.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Shipping:
£ 4.99
From United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Seller: AwesomeBooks, Wallingford, United Kingdom
Condition: Very Good. This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping. . Seller Inventory # 7719-9781862078413
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Infinity Books Japan, Tokyo, TKY, Japan
Condition: Very Good. In the winter of 1996, the writer Janet Malcolm received a letter from a st ranger - a disbarred lawyer named Sheila McGough, who had recently been rel eased from prison, and who wrote that she been convicted of crimes she had not committed. McGough's was an obscure fraud case, just as McGough herself was obscure: a fifty-four- year- old woman who when Malcolm met her 'looke d and sounded like a blandly wholesome heroine of fifties movies', toiling in the lower reaches of the American legal profession. Malcolm, however, de cided to look into her alleged crime. Out of her investigations and her com pelling narration there emerges a startling portrait of American cupidity a nd American law, and of a woman too innocent to survive among either. Seller Inventory # RWARE0000032935
Quantity: 1 available
Seller: Bahamut Media, Reading, United Kingdom
Condition: Very Good. Shipped within 24 hours from our UK warehouse. Clean, undamaged book with no damage to pages and minimal wear to the cover. Spine still tight, in very good condition. Remember if you are not happy, you are covered by our 100% money back guarantee. Seller Inventory # 6545-9781862078413
Quantity: 1 available