The Typewriter and the Guillotine: An American Journalist, a German Serial Killer, and Paris on the Eve of WWII

In 1925, Janet Flanner, born in Indianapolis, accepted an assignment to write a regular 'Letter from Paris' for The New Yorker, a humor magazine. She initially hoped to write about art and culture, and her employer expected lighthearted reports on French life. However, as Flanner witnessed rising extremism, economic crisis, and social unrest across Europe, she departed from her editor's directives and transformed both her assignment and the magazine's coverage. Flanner worked to inform American readers about the threat posed by the Third Reich. During this period, she became absorbed by the crimes of Eugen Weidmann, a German con-man and murderer who was the last person publicly executed in France, shortly before WWII began. Flanner covered his crimes, arrest, and politically charged trial, interpreting the case as a lens for understanding the turbulent era and preparing for dangers ahead. The Typewriter and the Guillotine chronicles Flanner's professional and personal development as a journalist against the backdrop of Paris in the years leading up to World War II, interweaving her reporting on fascism's rise with her coverage of a sensational criminal case.