THE DOWNFALL OF GALVESTON’S MAY WALKER BURLESON
Texas Society Marriage & Carolina Murder Scandal
by
T. Felder Dorn
Genre: True Crime
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing / The History Press
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Date of Publication: April 2, 2018
Number of Pages: 192 pages, 30 b&w images
Jennie May Walker Burleson was envied for having everything a woman of her time could want—the privileged upbringing, the dazzling good looks, the dashing war hero husband. She was admired for demonstrating that a woman could want more, from the front of the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession to the bottom of a Mesoamerican archaeological dig. But as she stood over the body of her husband’s second wife, gun in hand, society’s envy and admiration quickly hardened into pity and scorn. T. Felder Dorn examines the complicated trajectory of her life as socialite, suffragist and shooter.
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I love history, and these non-fiction accounts, such as The Downfall of Galveston’s May Walker Burleson by T. Felder Dorn, provide unique glimpses into the lives of ordinary or semi-ordinary people who led extraordinary and often infamous lives.
This account of May Burleson’s life is unique because she was a conundrum. May’s personality was a complex mix of robust and independent that eventually spiraled into fragile and inconsistent and then became eccentric after her release from prison. The recap at the end offers a good observation that epitomizes Mrs. Burleson: “May Walker Burleson could not accept defeat or be denied what she wanted.”
May spent her entire life pursuing her wants and desires, including surviving the 1900 hurricane in Galveston, marrying a prominent military man, engaging in social and civic activities, following an archaeology dream, and preserving her marriage and her family home. But somewhere along the way, May went too far when she didn’t get her way.
What I love most about this account by T. Felder Dorn is that the facts are presented methodically and with little (if any) bias. In my opinion, the author does not try to sway the reader in any one direction, in terms of who was right and who was wrong. The facts speak for themselves, and the author allows the reader to see all sides of this tragic story that started long before May Burleson fired that gun.
Another interesting aspect is that this story is a reminder of how much slower life used to be. In today’s age of instant information (and sometimes misinformation) and communication, it can be easy to forget that not long ago, people had to wait for letters, phone calls, court proceedings, and everything else for which we are no longer used to waiting.
But a slower time does not mean a less sensationalist time. This book about May Walker Burleson and her husband, Richard, is anything but boring or slow. In addition, this story is a reminder of how far this society has come in terms of mental health institutions and their standard treatments of care.
In the end, this story is tragic because someone was murdered, but it is also tragic because May Walker Burleson experienced the frustration of having her married life upended and broken. But before you feel too sorry for May, it’s important to remember that every story has two sides. Both May and her husband are responsible for the downfall of Galveston’s May Walker Burleson. If you want to know just how responsible these two were, I encourage you to read this excellent and thoroughly researched account of an interesting, erratic, and completely bewildering woman.
T. Felder Dorn graduated from Duke University in 1954 with a BS in chemistry and was awarded a PhD in that discipline in 1958 by the University of Washington. He was a member of the chemistry faculty at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, in 1958–69 and then served four years on the program staff of the College Board in New York. From 1973 to 1991, he held administrative positions at Kean University in Union, New Jersey, serving as associate dean, dean and vice-president for academic affairs. His last ten years at Kean were spent as professor of chemistry. He retired in 2001. Felder Dorn and his wife, Sara Ruth, have resided in Millburn, New Jersey, since 1973. They have three children and three grandchildren. Dorn has previously published four books: Challenges on the Emmaus Road: Episcopal Bishops Confront Slavery, Civil War, and Emancipation (University of South Carolina Press, 2013); Death of a Policeman, Birth of a Baby: A Crime and Its Aftermath (Xlibris, 2012); The Guns of Meeting Street: A Southern Tragedy (University of South Carolina Press, 2001); and The Tompkins School, 1925–1953: A Community Institution (Attic Press, 1994).
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Great review!