Culture, History & Crime

Philadelphia, United States Well-heeled society & the down-at-heel novelist A trial that painfully unpicked the private life of a socialite

In 1933, James Joyce’s Ulysses faced an American courtroom. The verdict would redefine obscenity law—and decide what books Americans could read.

In 1933, fan dancer Sally Rand faced indecency charges in Chicago. Her courtroom performance forced the law to confront the difference between art and obscenity.

In 1951, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. Their trial became a Cold War flashpoint over justice and state power.

THE WOMAN WHO OUTPLAYED POWER Marguerite Alibert — a woman who knew how to survive. A prince — charming, self-centred,