References
“‘Unpunished’ (Feminist Press, $18.95) has several ingredients of a modern detective story, even though it was written in 1929.
Domestic violence, blackmail, courtroom high jinks and a disabled heroine are elements of this ‘new’ novel by Charlotte Perkins Gilman that was recently discovered, and published for the first time.
In an introduction, Gilman (1860-1935), best-known for her classic short story, ‘The Yellow Wallpaper,’ wrote:
‘This story has murder enough to satisfy the most demanding, applied in a manner decidedly unusual. The mystery involved is not merely in the usual question of who did, bu in the unusual one of one of who did it FIRST.’
Wade Vaughn, a prominent attorney in Brooklyn, N.Y., is discovered murdered five times over: shot, strangled, poisoned, stabbed and clubbed. There is no shortage of suspects — Vaughn abused, blackmailed or tormented just about everyone he knew.
The ‘who-coulda-dunit’ list includes his sister-in-law, the disabled and disfigured Jacqueline ‘Jack’ Warner, whom Vaughn has made his servant; his stepdaughter and stepnephew, who must live with Vaughn or become destitute; his servants; and his business associates.
Husband-and-wife gumshoes Jim and Bessie Hunt take on the case. Bessie’s quick thinking and Jim’s nimble moves help unravel the mystery. There are twists and turns galore and even some amusing scenes.
More than a mystery, however, ‘Unpunished’ is a feminist statement about patriarchal power. As Jack writes about Vaughn in her diary: ‘At first I wondered why he should trouble himself to keep us at all; it would be quite easy to … turn us out of doors. I think it is … partly the sheer delight in our position. He couldn’t have anyone else in such complete submission, all the time. Two nice children to order about, and a woman.’
‘Unpunished’ works better as a political story about domestic abuse than as a detective novel. Sometimes, the characters seem dated, and the language bears a heavy, almost Gothic quality. Nonetheless, this book is an important addition to the contemporary feminist collection.
It is fortunate that ‘Unpunished’ remains unpublished no longer.”
– Standard-Speaker, Hazelton, Pennsylvania, 6 Mar 1998
