LIBBY HOLMAN Body and Soul

Hardback. A true story of power and money, gentility and celebrity, prejudice and envy, illicit sex and alcohol in Depression America. In November 1931, Libby Holman, 26, the rising torch singer on Broadway, married Zachary Smith Reynolds, 22, the very insecure heir to the vast Reynolds tobacco fortune. Eight months later, on July 6, Smith Reynolds died of a gunshot wound through his head. The shooting followed a wild party at the family home, Reynolda, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, where everyone, especially Libby, had drunk too much and flirted too much. Did a very jealous and gun-happy Smith Reynolds kill himself? Or did Libby shoot him when she was caught in the arms of his best friend? Libby Holman was indicted for murder and then, suddenly, the charges were dropped. The case never went to trial, but it scorched the headlines of America's newspapers. Libby Holman, a bright young Jewish woman, struck big twice on Broadway and then scaled the social ladder by marrying Zachary Smith Reynolds. The Reynolds family effectively stifled the lurid story behind the marriage and its tragic end. Fifty years later, the author uncovered one very important piece of evidence, the private transcript of the secret inquest following the shooting. With further scrupulous research and interviews, he has produced a remarkable story. The legendary singer of "Body and Soul" is finally tried, and the readers are her jury. Illus., Appendices and Index. 300pp. lge 8vo. h/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. Nr. F. in Vg+ pcdw. A fairly heavy book which may require additional postage.