{"product_id":"notorious-woman-the-celebrated-case-of-myra-clark-gaines-southern-biography-series-9780807126981","title":"Notorious Woman: The Celebrated Case of Myra Clark Gaines (Southern Biography Series)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe legal crusade of Myra Clark Gaines (1804?-1885) has all the trappings of classical melodrama--a lost heir  a missing will  an illicit relationship  a questionable marriage  a bigamous husband  and a murder. For half a century the daughter of New Orleans millionaire Daniel Clark struggled to justify her claim to his enormous fortune in a case that captivated the nineteenth-century public. Elizabeth Urban Alexander taps voluminous court records and letters to unravel the twists and turns of Gainess litigation and reveal the truth behind the mysterious saga of this notorious woman. Myra  the daughter of real estate heir Clark and Zulume Carriere  a beautiful young Frenchwoman  was raised by friends of Clark and kept ignorant of her real parentage until 1832  when she discovered her true lineage in letters among her foster fathers papers. She thereupon returned to Louisiana with tales of a lost will and a secret marriage between Clark and Carriere and claimed to be Clarks missing heir. Was Myra the legitimate daughter of the prominent merchant  or the \"fruit of an adulterous union?\" The courts would decide. The great Gaines Case wound it tortuous path through the United States legal system from 1834 until 1891. It was considered by the U.S. Supreme Court seventeen times and pursued even after Gainess death by lawyers trying to recoup fees. By courageously bringing her case to the courtroom and doggedly keeping it there  Alexander asserts  Gaines helped instigate a new type of family law that provided special protection of women  children  and marriages. Though Gaines never recovered more than a tiny fraction of the rumored millions  this riveting chronicle of her struggle for legitimacy and legacy as told by Elizabeth Urban Alexander is a goldmine for anyone interested in legal history  womens studies  or a good yarn superbly spun.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45914200473653,"sku":"ByrdShop_0807126985","price":336.33,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780807126981.jpg?v=1787341167","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/notorious-woman-the-celebrated-case-of-myra-clark-gaines-southern-biography-series-9780807126981","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}