Blackest Bird by Joel Rose

Blackest Bird opens on July 26, 1841 at midnight. A man, somewhat reluctantly and with a twinge of guilt, dumps Mary's dead body into the Hudson River. The killer audibly cries out, teeming with guilt as he wonders what have I done? "Oh Mary!" (Rose 11). Therefore, the killer knows Mary, and was likely either in love with her or a close companion. He could even be her relative.

Detective Jacob Hays is sixty-nine years old and in no mood to retire. He has long served the city of New York, as high constable. Known as Old Hays, he is obsessed with crime, and especially solving them. The murder of the as-of-yet unknown Mary captures his attention. When he realizes that the body belongs not just to any Mary, but to Mary Rogers, Old Hays knows he's got a huge story on his hands. Mary Rogers is the locally famous socialite known around town as the "Beautiful Cigar Girl," and thus she is immortalized in the papers. Rogers was well loved, and she fraternized with the city's literary luminaries including James Fennimore Cooper, Washington Irving, Charles Dickens, Charles Adams, and Edgar Allen Poe.

Edgar Allen Poe figures prominently in The Blackest Bird. At first, he is just the morose writer who publishes reviews of others' writing, and who exposes the darker underbelly of the publishing industry. Poe's denouncement of unjust publishing laws and the overall corruption of the industry is what leads publisher Harper to try and frame Poe. Harper's testimony is not the only reason why Poe becomes a suspect in the murder of Mary Rogers. Although it appears Poe is likely to be innocent, he acts suspiciously throughout the novel and gets Old Hays' attention. After all, Poe knew Mary well and later writes a tribute short story that he publishes in a magazine.

Moreover, the author visits two accused killers, John C. Colt and Tommy Coleman, in prison. John C. Colt is on death row for the murder of Charles Adams, yet another writer and publisher. The motive for the murder of Adams by Colt remains unknown, but Colt is the brother of the man who invented the already famous Colt revolver. On the other side of death row is Tommy Coleman, the Irish head of a street gang known as the Forty Little Thieves. Tommy is on death row, for the murder of his wife daughter, and another little girl. Tommy insists upon his innocence, and Hays pokes into his story a little bit. Tommy Coleman claims that his wife's lover was the one who went on the killing spree.

Poe draws even more attention to himself when he boldly publishes a short story about the murder of Mary Rogers. The story mirror's Poe's own morose nature. Poe is depressed, an addict, and does little to convince Hays of either his innocence or his guilt. Poe is also later spotted at a local cemetery, spying on shadowy grave robbers. Hays notes that he seems alarmingly comfortable in the gothic setting. Poe's semi-fictionalized account of Mary's murder is dark and powerful, and Old Hays cannot help but pay attention. Poe's poem "The Raven" also surfaces. Who actually killed Mary Rogers remains to be seen, as Old Hays tries to dig up valuable clues. In the meantime, other street gangs wreak havoc on the city, especially in its poorest areas like the Five Points. Gangs like the Dead Rabbits and the Shirttails compete with the Forty Little Thieves for petty territorial grabs. Ultimately, Poe is exonerated but he dies a sad, untimely, but characteristic death.

Historical Analysis

At novel's opening, the murder has already been completed; "the deed is done," (Rose 11). The killer supposedly dumps Mary Rogers' limp frame into the Hudson River on July 26, 1841 at midnight. "Make no mistake," the narrator begins, "the task at hand affects him deeply," (Rose 11). Rose tries to engender sympathy with the murderer, painting him as a man who is "not entirely cold-blooded," (11). The real-life murder of Mary Rogers did indeed take place in July of 1841, although the exact time of the murder and of the body disposal are not known exactly. Rose does a close enough job describing the setting: a sweltering summer in pre-air conditioning New York City. The real-life Mary Rogers was known as the "beautiful cigar girl," or the "beautiful Seegar girl," as it was sometimes put colloquially ("Who Killed Mary Rogers?").

The atmosphere and setting of mid nineteenth century New York City are reconstructed with a fair degree of accuracy by Rose. Rose correctly describes the Five Points area as being both poor and crime-ridden. Street gangs created a general sense of lawlessness throughout the area. The names of the gangs correspond with the actual gangs present in New York at the time: the Kerryonians, the Bowery Boys, Roach Guards, Dead Rabbits, Shirt Tails and the Plug Uglies. "The last one became the most notorious especially along the river front," as Rose describes ("Who Killed Mary Rogers?"). Moreover, the Forty Thieves features prominently in The Blackest Bird. The leader of the Forty Thieves in The Blackest Bird, is Tommy Coleman but in real life his name was Edward Coleman. The description of the murder of the "hot corn girl" remains identical.

Rose also uses terminology that is appropriate to the era, including words like Negro. Places like Bridewell Palace, the Manhattan House of Detention for Men, and the "Tombs" on Elm, Center, Anthony, and Leonard near the old freshwater Collect are also places that existed in the time period covered by Rose in The Blackest Bird. Right down to the gray Weekawken stone block used in building construction in Manhanttan, Rose does a fine job of recreating the atmosphere and setting surrounding the murder of Mary Rogers.