Overview

Beginning in 1933, Eleanor Jarman was sensationalized by the press as the ""blonde tigress"" and ""the most dangerous woman alive."" But a closer look at her life shows that she was an otherwise-ordinary woman who got caught up in a Chicago crime spree, then was convicted as an accomplice to murder and sent to prison. In 1940, Eleanor escaped and managed to live out her life as America's longest-running female fugitive. Follow along with the factors that led up to the murder of an elderly shopkeeper, then take a front-row seat for Eleanor's arrest, trial, conviction, and sentencing. With recently unearthed primary-source documents that include police records, court transcripts and prison files, readers will then follow Eleanor through her prison years. Woven in are comparisons and contrasts between Eleanor's and her escape partner's criminal histories, as well as speculation on their lives on the lam. Whether Eleanor deserved her sentence, or if it was too harsh, is left for the reader to decide. The Legend of the Blonde Tigress also includes Eleanor's grandson's unsuccessful plea, in 1993, in which he publicly advertised for Eleanor to come forward and apply for clemency. Most revealing at the time was Eleanor's alias. With that information (and given the fact that Eleanor, born in 1901, is obviously deceased) the author documents her search for Eleanor's remains –– right up to a visit to her likely grave under the name of Marie Millman..

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9781493068630

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In Search of the Blonde Tigress is a richly detailed true crime story that draws the reader into the anxieties of the Great Depression and Prohibition. Silvia Pettem has successfully recreated the life of Eleanor Jarman, believed to be America's longest-running female fugitive. But was Jarman the 'most dangerous woman alive, ' as major newspapers and law enforcement called her? Or was she simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? Pettem's incredible research and tight narrative about the fate of Jarman is a real whodunit. More broadly, it's an intriguing look at the intersection of the law, the media, and family obligations during a time in which women had few means and even fewer avenues of justice. --Julia Bricklin, author of Blonde Rattlesnake: Burmah Adams, Tom White, and the 1933 Crime Spree that Terrorized Los Angeles Silvia Pettem continues the tradition of combining meticulous research with a critical review of the criminal justice system. She explores the story of Eleanor Jarman, who was called the 'most dangerous woman alive' in the '30s. The story the author presents gives us a different take on Eleanor, the crime, the trial, and her further life. As she did with her previous books, Pettem sketches not just the scene but the era. It is instrumental to get the story right. And that's what she does best--she gets the story right. --Alice de Sturler, Defrosting Cold Cases research website

Author Information

Silvia Pettem was for many years a columnist for the Boulder (CO) Daily Camera. As an advisor to the Boulder Police Department, she has helped in reviewing evidence in a number of unsolved cases, including the Jon Benet Ramsey murder case. She the author of Someone's Daughter: In Search of Justice for Jane Doe (Taylor Trade, 2009), Cold Case Research: Resources for Unidentified, Missing, Cold Homicide Cases (CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2013), The Long Term Missing: Hope and Help for Families (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017) and Cold Case Chronicles: Mysteries, Murders & the Missing (Lyons Press, 2021). She lives in the mountains outside of Boulder, CO.

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