Life changed quickly for the people of Norfolk County, England in the 1800’s. The large estates were falling. The families of privilege, who employed large households full of servants, often for life, grew more scarce by the day. John and Maria Bowles could see the writing on the walls, so to speak. Their way of…
He was born on March 9, 1918 in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Elizabeth, NJ, in a neighborhood he called “grimy, industrial, and working class.” It was exactly the kind of neighborhood you would expect a tough-guy to grow up in. Mickey Spillane was christened Frank Morrison Spillane by his Protestant mom, Catherine Ann….
When the door opened at the Pinkerton Detective Agency on August 23rd, 1856, Allan Pinkerton, the legendary chief of the most famous detective shop in history, had no idea what lay ahead of him. She was, as Allan later described her, “A commanding person, with clear cut, expressive features.” He said he wouldn’t call her…
There’s a creak at the door, the smell of burnt coffee in the air and a forty-five buried in a desk drawer somewhere under six months of overdue bills. A knock on the door reveals a woman in black. She’s high-couture danger wearing a stylish hat at a rebellious angle. She cradles a cigarette holder…
Why Prison Uniforms Were Striped and Why They Aren’t Now If you’ve seen a prison movie either filmed or set before the 1960’s, than you’ve had a pretty easy time figuring out the players. The guards had blue suits while the prisoners wore baggy, ill-fitting (and frankly unflattering) horizontal stripes. Think George Clooney in Oh…
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