Rhode Island

Rhode Island’s small size belies an immense legacy, from the outsized impact on World War II to the bygone grandeur of downtown Providence. In spite of the storms that battered its coasts and sunk its ships, the Ocean State has never been overwhelmed by its namesake. Enjoy the undiminished pleasures of an iconic clam shack, the celebrated thrills of Rocky Point Park or the matchless vistas of the Newport Bridge. Our catalogue of Rhode Island history books extends a sturdy causeway to the state’s capacious past. [View all Rhode Island books]
3 products
Murder at Rocky Point Park:
Murder at Rocky Point Park:
$21.99
Murder & Mayhem in Washington County, Rhode Island
Murder & Mayhem in Washington County, Rhode Island
$21.99
Wicked Conduct:
Wicked Conduct:
$21.99

Murder at Rocky Point Park:

9781626196254

$21.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 248): Computation results in '-Infinity'%

Join author & reporter Kelly Sullivan Pezza as she investigates and recounts the murder of 5-year old Maggie Sheffield.


On a summer day in 1893, little Maggie Sheffield was murdered. Maggie's own father did the unthinkable against a backdrop of laughter and barrel organ music at Rocky Point Amusement Park. The tragedy aroused a strange reaction from the peaceable community of Warwick, Rhode Island. Many seemed to be more concerned for the murderer, Frank Sheffield, than for his young victim. Frank was rumored to be insane or addicted to drugs, and after a trial, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. The murder did not tarnish Rocky Point's reputation as a premier destination, and the park operated until 1995. Investigating official records and newspaper archives, author Kelly Sullivan Pezza uncovers the facts and oddities behind a grim crime in Rhode Island's summer paradise.

Murder at Rocky Point Park:

Murder & Mayhem in Washington County, Rhode Island

9781626198340

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Rhode Island's Washington County hides a dark past riddled with macabre crimes and despicable deeds. In 1890, an argument over wages turned deadly when former hotelier George Kenyon shot and killed his carpenter on the grounds of the Gilbert Stuart House in Saunderstown. Senator Charles Burdick was shot and left for dead at his Charlestown home in 1930. Even the peaceful village of Woodville has a veritable rap sheet of thieving maids, speakeasies and murderously jealous wives. From chilling acts by the KKK to physicians practicing under the influence of narcotics, author Kelly Sullivan Pezza's collection of articles from the Chariho Times uncovers the violence and vices of Washington County.
Murder & Mayhem in Washington County, Rhode Island

Wicked Conduct:

9781596298026

$21.99 Save Liquid error (snippets/product-template line 248): Computation results in '-Infinity'%
This scribbled note belonged to Sarah M. Cornell, written the day her body was found hanged in a rural pasture in Tiverton, Rhode Island. An unmarried young woman of limited means, Sarah was four months pregnant, and a married Methodist minister stood accused as the father. Local authorities grew skeptical of Sarah's apparent suicide as Reverend Avery's conduct appeared increasingly suspect, and eventually the extensive evidence of their tortured relationship set off a groundswell of public interest and media attention never before seen in 1830s New England. This tragic crime left the nation clamoring for justice and became one of early America's most sensational murder trials.
Wicked Conduct: