As compelling as fiction,
The Mystery of Beautiful Nell
Cropsey tells the dramatic story of the disappearance of
nineteen-year-old Nell Cropsey from her riverside home in Elizabeth
City, North Carolina, in November 1901. Bloodhounds, detectives,
divers, and even a psychic were brought in to search for her, and
the case immediately became a national sensation. Bland Simpson,
who first heard the tale as an Elizabeth City schoolboy, weaves
this true story into a colorful nonfiction account, told in three
first-person voices: Nell's sister Ollie; famous newspaper editor
W. O. Saunders, who covered the case as a young reporter; and Jim
Wilcox, Nell's beau, who was implicated in the case. Nell and Jim's
romance, her disappearance, the great search, the trials, and their
aftermath are artfully reconstructed from interviews, court
records, and newspaper accounts.