Nonfiction Book Discussion

Please join us for a discussion of 18 Tiny Deaths : The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb on Tuesday March 9th at 7:30 p.m.

Frances Glessner Lee, born a socialite to a wealthy and influential Chicago family in the 1870s, was never meant to have a career, let alone one steeped in death and depravity. Yet she developed a fascination with the investigation of violent crimes and made it her life's work. Best known for creating the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, a series of dioramas that appear charming-until you notice the macabre little details: an overturned chair, a blood-spattered comforter. And then, of course, there are the bodies-splayed out on the floor, draped over chairs-clothed in garments that Lee lovingly knit with sewing pins. Lee developed a system that used the Nutshells dioramas to train law enforcement officers to investigate violent crimes, and her methods are still used today. 18 Tiny Deaths is the story of a woman who overcame the limitations and expectations imposed by her social status and pushed forward an entirely new branch of science that we still use today.

Copies of the book are available on Libby and Hoopla and may also be reserved for curbside pickup at the library.

Click [HERE](https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83958136218) to connect or dial in by your location 1 646 558 8656

Meeting ID: 839 5813 6218

Passcode: 447504