Book 20 – “Starvation Heights” by Gregg Olsen

My final book in the 20 Books of Summer Challenge is a substitution. Starvation Heights by Gregg Olsen is not the book I had originally chosen from my to-be-read pile to read over the summer but I decided to abandon the book I had chosen (I shall write more about this in my final post to wrap up the challenge). This book is a true crime story relating what happened in 1911 in a small, isolated town in the country near Seattle.

Two sisters, Claire and Dora, travelled the world together. They were British heiresses and very wealthy with few close family members. They developed a passion for alternative health remedies and cures for illnesses they didn’t really have, and came under the influence of Dr Linda Hazzard who believed that she could cure almost any illness by fasting the patient. The sisters were effectively held prisoner by the doctor and starved to the point of death while their riches were transferred to the doctor and wills drawn up in favour of the sanatorium.

It’s difficult to believe that anyone could be so gullible but there is plenty of evidence of people placing themselves in dangerous situations and following the lead of someone who wishes them harm. The sisters were young and had no one nearby with an interest in their wellbeing. They were wealthy which made them prey for unscrupulous people. They were isolated from anyone who could help them. As they grew weaker they were unable to stand up for themselves and those assisting the doctor were under her control. The doctor was properly licensed and medical people were looked up to as authorities whose opinions could not be challenged.

It is only because one sister smuggled out a message to someone the girls knew that anyone intervened and unfortunately it was too late for her. The surviving sister tried to bring the doctor to justice but encountered a large number of obstacles in her way before she was partially successful including having to pay for the investigation and court case because the town could not afford it.

The author tells this strange story very clearly. He does, however, give us conversations and describe the feelings of people involved that are his own invention and interpretation although I don’t think that these materially affect the facts. He also gives us background of the doctor and her husband as well as full details of the court case and the doctor’s defence. We never get a full understanding of how far Dr Hazzard believed in the fasting cure, which was very popular at the time, and how far she was just a confidence trickster. It’s a fascinating story and this book outlines how easy it is to believe when you want to believe.