About this episode

The episode revisits the story of the Harp brothers, America's first serial killers, and explores the impact of frontier life on their violent actions.

The Harp(e) brothers have been called America's first serial killers, once notorious enough to be the stuff of folklore and legend before fading into obscurity. In the chaos of the post-Revolutionary frontier, the two men committed dozens of murders across Kentucky and Tennessee, their wives traveling alongside them the entire time. My guest is Katherine Grandjean, author of "Kingdom of Devils: A Tale of Murder in the Shadow of the American Revolution", out now. She explains how the desperation of frontier life might have pushed two ordinary men toward violence, and what their story reveals about the darker side of the years following the American Revolution. The author's publisher page: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2289902/katherine-grandjean/ Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠

People in this episode

Guest: Katherine Grandjean

Topics covered

• serial killers
• American Revolution
• frontier life
• true crime
• historical analysis

Keywords

• Harp brothers
• serial killers
• Kentucky
• Tennessee
• American history
• murder
• frontier violence

Sponsors

Quince

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Blue Ewe Media

Books & works: Kingdom of Devils: A Tale of Murder in the Shadow of the American Revolution

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