Praise

“[The book] uses a love triangle gone wrong to tell a wider story about 19th-century San Francisco. . . . Krist has mined a rich vein of material. . . . Trespassers at the Golden Gate also folds in portraits of vibrant and less-famous characters roaming San Francisco during the city’s explosive periods of growth, bust and reinvention. . . . Krist helps us understand San Francisco’s evolution—a city described by one of its early residents as ‘an odd place . . . not created in the ordinary way, but hatched like chickens by artificial heat.’”—Wall Street Journal

“In this masterful work of true crime, Krist wraps a detailed portrait of a booming late nineteenth-century San Francisco around an engrossing account of a scandalous murder. . . . Krist recreates [Laura] Fair’s two trials—she was eventually acquitted on grounds of temporary insanity—with meticulous research and a novelist’s flair for drama. This top-shelf blend of history and entertainment is as edifying as it is exciting.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A tale of mad love, murder, and the rough-and-tumble mores of early San Francisco . . . [and] a lively, richly detailed social history that ably brings together many narrative strands.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“A scrupulously documented tale of passion, ambition, and social mores set in San Francisco in the early 1870s . . . Krist elucidates a thoroughly engaging slice of history.”—Booklist

“An amazingly rich and detailed work of nonfiction of keen interest to anyone interested in the history of the development of San Francisco . . . [Trespassers at the Golden Gate] is much more than a crime story.”—Bay City News

“If it were possible to time travel to any American city of the past, my choice would be post–Gold Rush San Francisco. . . . The book is a marvelous tour de force culminating in a trial that riveted the nation and exposed the sexual double standard even in this freewheeling town. The nation hung on every word, and believe me, you will, too.”—Liza Mundy, New York Times bestselling author of Code Girls and The Sisterhood

“The story of the murder of a married man in 1800s San Francisco and the debate over the madness of his killer should thrill any true crime reader. In Trespassers at the Golden Gate, Gary Krist accomplishes what good nonfiction does best, offering readers a fusion of murder, intrigue, and solid research that shines a light on the dark corners of society.”—Kate Winkler Dawson, author of American Sherlock and The Sinners All Bow

“The Wild West in all its glory: the gold rush, adultery, and, ultimately, murder. Gary Krist draws an indelible portrait of the United States’ tumultuous post-Civil War history.”—Judith Flanders, author of The Invention of Murder and A Place for Everything