Corinne May Botz

This book was delightfully interesting, for reasons that had very little to do with the actual subject matter of the book. I have no strong feelings about Frances Glessner Lee. Instead, I enjoyed this book, its essay, its photographs, and its commentary because of how revealing they all were about author and photographer Corinne May Botz.

She is fanatially consumed with interest in FGL & FGL's creations. Her essay at points turns away from a professional tone and dips into this almost show more spiritual reverence for FGL--she makes reference to a sisterhood of sorts between them, and the particular care with which Botz depicts the Nutshell Studies communicates a deep respect and a deeper fascination. It would be curious that someone so interested in the Studies would photograph the details rather than the whole, but upon reading Botz' essay and commentaries, it is easy to understand. She, as FGL apparently intended, walks into the homes as if they are sized to fit her. Botz is completely entangled in their mystery.

All of this I say with my own reverence. I found Botz's obsession fascinating and sympathetic, and I pray that in the future I may read more books like this: with complete positive bias, on a topic where bias is of no consequence. Books written with passion in every word. show less

The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death offers readers an extraordinary glimpse into the mind of a master criminal investigator.

Frances Glessner Lee, a wealthy grandmother, founded the Department of Legal Medicine at Harvard in 1936 and was later appointed captain in the New Hampshire police.

In the 1940s and 1950s she built dollhouse crime scenes based on real cases in order to train detectives to assess visual evidence. Still used in forensic training today, the eighteen Nutshell show more dioramas, on a scale of 1:12, display an astounding level of detail: pencils write, window shades move, whistles blow, and clues to the crimes are revealed to those who study the scenes carefully.

Corinne May Botz's lush color photographs lure viewers into every crevice of Frances Lee's models and breathe life into these deadly miniatures, which present the dark side of domestic life, unveiling tales of prostitution, alcoholism, and adultery. The accompanying line drawings, specially prepared for this volume, highlight the noteworthy forensic evidence in each case. Botz's introductory essay, which draws on archival research and interviews with Lee's family and police colleagues, presents a captivating portrait of Lee. show less

I'd love to give this book four stars - it was enthralling and I spent an afternoon marveling at it - but honestly the photographs were not what I wanted. If the text is going to draw attention to particular points in the models, it would be nice if the photographs showed those points. Which they frequently do not.

I normally don't read the introductions to photography books, but in this case I'm glad I did. Lee was a fascinating woman, well worth a full biography (which I'd love to read if show more it exists) and there was just enough analysis of the models as art to fulfill my curiosity, but not too much. They weren't conceptualized as art, after all, even if they were executed as such. show less

This book is amazing. Though the content is likely a bit morbid for most to consider it a coffee table book, had I coffee table, it would definitely be prominently displayed on mine. The book discusses the career of Frances Glessner Lee, a woman Corinne May Botz describes as:

“…brilliant, witty , and, by some accounts, impossible woman. She gave you what she thought you should have, rather than what you might actually want. She had a wonderful sense of humor about everything and show more everyone, excluding herself. The police adored and regarded her as their “patron saint,” her family was more reticent about applauding her and her hired help was “scared to death of her.”

Raised in an ultra-traditional, very wealthy family, Lee spent a good majority of her young life thwarted, though she was exposed to home decorating skills that would stand her in good stead when she began making the Nutshell Studies. Unable to attend college as she wanted, once her parents died, Lee started to come into her own, both metaphorically and literally, as she then had plenty of wealth to support her interests. She met a man by the name of George Magrath, a medical examiner who testified in criminal cases in New England. Magrath enthralled the young Lee, and it was through Magrath and his knowledge that Lee began to see what would become her life work.

Read the rest of the review here: http://ireadoddbooks.com/?p=147 show less