‘Hustled out of prison – woman who got into the prison by a fraud’
Dorothy Parker, writer, poet and brilliant wit, was born in New Jersey on 22 August 1893.
We found this fascinating, wee story in the Archive about her blagging her way into Charlestown Prison and then being promptly thrown out of the prison when an officer overheard her telephone conversation about the Sacco-Vanzetti trial.
The Sacco-Vanzetti was a cause celebre in 1927, and many people thought that the trial was a miscarriage of justice. Parker was just one of many people who signed a petition asking that Sacco and Vanzetti should have a retrial, and she also campaigned for a retrial and to have the death sentence commuted.
We think that, on her birthday, this is a story she would like to be remembered by.
There are dozens of stories about Dorothy Parker in the Archive – in particular, there are stories about her appearances (along with Charlie Chaplin) before the House of Un-American Activities. Just do a search on her name to find these stories.
Western Times – Friday 12 August 1927
Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.
http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000265/19270812/127/0016
