Anatomy of a Murder

by Robert Traver

Book Overview

First published by St. Martin's in 1958, Robert Traver's Anatomy of a Murder immediately became the number-one bestseller in America, and was subsequently turned into the now classic Otto Preminger film of the same name, starring Jimmy Stewart and Duke Ellington.

It's not only the most popular courtroom drama in American fiction, but one of the most popular novels of our time.

A gripping tale of deceit, murder, and...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312033567
• ISBN13: 9780312033569
• Release Date: March 1983
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 437 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Anatomy of a Murder

Yes, Love this book. It was great to read this book again and to see how the courts system conduct themselves in the book than the movie. This book is awful hard to put down. Law students can read this book to see how the court system perform the trial. I love this book. Renee

Classic Courtroom Drama - Great Book, Superb Film Adaptation

Robert Traver's book, Anatomy of a Murder (1958), was on the best seller's list for 65 weeks. Fifty years later this novel is seldom encountered, and yet it is surprisingly well-written and strongly influenced later courtroom dramas. This was Traver's first attempt at a novel. Recalling an English professor's humorous guidance, "An ounce of authenticity is worth of pound of windgassity", he wrote about a murder trial, something with which he was quite familiar. Robert Traver is a pseudonym for a former Michigan Supreme Court Justice. My copy is a relatively recent reprint from Cinema Classics by Gramercy Books. It includes an amusing, personal introduction by Robert Traver that discusses not only the writing of this exceptional novel, but also his participation in the filming of Anatomy of the Murder. Having seen the movie several times, I readily visualized James Stewart as Biegler, Ben Gazzara as Lieutenant Manion, Lee Remick as Laura, Arthur O'Connell as Parnell, Eve Arden as Maida, George C. Scott as the prosecutor Claude Dancer, and Joseph M. Welch as the presiding judge. About 100 pages into this story I was convinced that Otto Preminger's film adhered closely to the book. The rustic atmosphere of the Upper Peninsula, lawyer Paul Biegler's obsession with trout fishing, Biegler's interview with Lieutenant Manion, Biegler's friendship with Parnell, and the good humor of Biegler office assistant, Maida, were as portrayed in the movie. However, as I continued reading, I became fascinated with several notable differences. Unlike Preminger's film, Laura Manion does not visit Biegler alone in his home office, nor does she go dancing with soldiers at a Thunder Bay bar while her husband is in jail. The humorous courtroom discussion about the proper way to discuss the missing panties is found only in the movie. Otto Preminger was again teasing and testing the censors; the word panties had never been used previously in an American movie. Most significantly, the eleventh-hour revelation that Mary Pilant, the Thunder Bay Bar hostess, was actually the daughter of Barney Quill, and not his mistress as rumored, is found only in the movie. Contrastingly, Traver in his book concludes the courtroom drama with powerful, protracted summaries by the prosecution and defense. Notes on the movie: Anatomy of a Murder was a best picture nominee while James Stewart was nominated best actor for his role as Paul Biegler. However, the epic Ben Hur dominated 1959, winning eleven Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor. George C. Scott as the competent, forceful prosecutor was in only his second major role. Joseph M. Welch was equally superb as the presiding judge. Interestingly, Welch was actually a well-respected lawyer, not an actor. Joseph Welch is remembered for having masterfully confronted Senator McCarthy in the Army-McCarthy hearings, forcing him to back down on his unfounded accusations.

For Prospective Lawyers

I don't dispute the comments of the other reviewers, but I was struck by something else: this book, along with Scott Turow's "One L" would be an excellent read for anyone considering law as a career, particularly trial law. It gives a sense of the rough-and-tumble of trial work, the mind-numbing hair-splitting that seems to be characteristic of the law, and the ambiguity in which lawyers must conduct their work.

"A murder trial is a fascinating pageant."

Robert Traver's 1958 classic, "Anatomy of a Murder," is a prototype of the legal thriller/courtroom drama that has long been a mainstay of popular fiction. However, its value goes beyond its historical importance as a groundbreaking work. It is an engrossing tale of a sensational murder trial that pits a wily prosecutor against a clever and tenacious defense attorney. Forty-year-old Paul Bieglar (dubbed "Polly" by his cronies) is an ex D. A. who has been replaced by a young upstart, Mitch Lodwick. Paul is at loose ends, with no wife, a faltering legal practice, and little to occupy his time other than drinking and fishing. One day, he gets a telephone call from Laura Manion, whose husband, U. S. Army Lieutenant Frederic Manion, sits in a county jail cell after admitting that he killed the man who allegedly raped his wife. Although Manion has no money to hire a lawyer, Paul believes that this case will bring him valuable publicity. He decides to defend Manion, and Parnell McCarthy, a hard-drinking attorney whose career has faded but who still loves the law, becomes Polly's unofficial partner. Squaring off against them is the aforementioned Lodwick and a much more experienced state attorney named Claude Dancer. As the case proceeds, it becomes a legal morass, with contradictory eyewitness testimony, dueling psychiatrists, heated and, at times, eloquent courtroom exchanges, and an unexpected last-minute witness whose testimony may change the trial's outcome. Traver accomplishes what few authors of legal thrillers these days even attempt. He creates an indelible sense of time and place as well as fully fleshed out three-dimensional characters. The book is set in a small logging and resort town on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan near Lake Superior. With his evocative descriptive writing, the author captures the atmosphere of this isolated area of wild and untouched beauty, a quiet rural village where everyone knows everyone else, rumors fly around at the speed of light, and old friends sit around in taverns late into the night, swapping stories. The Manion trial rocks the town to its foundations and generates a tidal wave of public interest and excitement. Besides Polly and Parnell, another notable character is Barney Quill, the alleged rapist, who presumably was a prominent citizen, a man of means, and a tavern and hotel owner known to be an expert marksman, fisherman, and martial arts expert. Why would such an individual suddenly attack a defenseless woman? Claude Dancer, the brains behind the state's case, is articulate, ambitious, and not above pulling a few rabbits out of his hat to catch his opponent off guard. One of the most memorable individuals in the book is Judge Weaver, a brilliant and fair-minded man who bends over backwards to make sure that justice is served in this convoluted case. The writing in "Anatomy of a Murder" is ornate and old-fashioned by modern standards, but it is also literate and laced with delicio

Combines great writing and suspense with a unique setting.

This book is based on a true murder case which happened in Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula about fifty years ago. The last half of the story is almost entirely courtroom drama and is second to none for suspense in this genre. Not only do we get excellent character development and an exciting story, but also a nice sense of place, as Traver lived in the U.P. much of his life. Additionally, this book contains the most eloquent use of the modern English language I've ever read, particularly the character Parnell's quotes. Highly recommended to fans of courtroom drama or classic literature.

The Book That Sets The Standard For "Legal Thrillers"

Many contemporary readers seem to find this novel "dated" or "trite." With all due respect, I find this type of thinking analogous to those who say the same about Bronte's "Jane Eyre," never taking the time to realize that she -- like Travers in this instance -- was breaking new ground, setting the standard for successive (and in all too many instances lesser) writers to equal and exceed, if only they could.In "Anatomy," there is never a question that army Lt. Manion is responsible for the death of tavern owner Barney Quill in a relatively remote "upper peninsula" Michigan locale. Witnesses to the shooting death are hardly in short supply; add to that the fact that Manion himself readily admits to the homicide. What is at issue -- and which, frankly, may remain at issue even after the last page is turned -- is the question of Manion's culpability; was his killing of Quill justified, in the strictest legal sense, or was it otherwise?Travers leaves that question dangling in the minds of his reader, diverting our attention, rather, to the practice of criminal law and trial strategies; his protagonist, recently-deposed County Prosecutor Paul ('Polly') Biegler, faces an uphill battle against not only his successful rival, Mitch Lodwick, but a high-powered deputy from the state attorney-general's office (from 'downstate' in Flint, Michigan) who promptly emerges as his true antagonist. Relative issues of guilt vs. innocence quickly take a backseat to questions of "gamesmanship" in the trial as Biegler fights to introduce evidence that the prosecution fights equally hard to suppress. "Truth" quickly becomes a secondary issue -- if an issue at all.Nor are Biegler's problems confined simply to the courtroom; he finds himself entertaining a hearty dislike for his client -- as would most people as well as, one suspects, the man's own wife --even as he finds himself compelled to 'coach' his client through a recounting of the events leading up to the death of Quill (while always remaining within the American Bar Association's canons of conduct) which may or may not provide an "affirmative defense."Travers chooses to recount his narrative through the first-person, and wisely so. Biegler's account is delivered in a somewhat wry, and at times whimsical, voice that is nonetheless passionate in its love for -- and belief in -- the law and the way it is practiced in the courtroom."Anatomy Of A Murder" emerges -- and today, almost 50 years later, remains -- as a classic novel of the American legal process. Anyone who thinks to term this novel as "dated" or "trite" need only to look to the fact that the book is still in publication, and readily available, as opposed to far too many of its "successors" . . .