The 1847 murder of Edward Mathews, in Waterville, Maine, followed by the eight day trial of Dr. Valorus P. Coolidge in 1848, Coolidge's death or escape in 1849, and the subsequent stories of his sightings in the years that followed, generated newspaper columns and journal articles for decades. This volume presents the fullest possible account of the trial and the subsequent controversies, as reported at the time.

The transcript of the trial is based upon the comparison of multiple sources, and is sandwiched between the reports of the discovery of the murder, the inquest, preparations for the trial, and afterwards, Coolidge's imprisonment and either his death or escape, as reported in the newspapers of the time, and continuing over the next fifty years.