The Glessner Women: Frances MacBeth Glessner and Frances Glessner Lee




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ClassGraphic This seven-week study group will explore the lives of the Glessner women: Frances MacBeth Glessner and her daughter, Frances Glessner Lee. First, discover the remarkable life of Frances MacBeth Glessner, one of Chicago's most influential women of the Gilded Age. Our first two weeks will explore her roles as an artist, craftswoman, philanthropist, diarist, and cultural leader. Through her journals, family life, and involvement in Chicago's leading institutions, participants will gain insight into the city's social and cultural history. During the final five weeks, we will step into Frances Glessner Lee's fascinating world of forensics, medicine, and scientific discovery, based on Unexplained Deaths: How One Woman Changed Homicide Investigation Forever by Bruce Goldfarb (Endeavor, 2020). We will learn about Lee's famous "Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death," meticulously crafted miniature crime scenes used to train investigators to observe evidence and reconstruct events. We will also examine historic cases, early forensic techniques, and the challenges faced by medical examiners and detectives of the time. Combining social history, true crime, and scientific innovation, this study group reveals how two remarkable women left lasting marks on Chicago's cultural life and the development of modern forensic science.
 

Class Details

6 Session(s)
Weekly - Thu

Location
Wieboldt Hall

Instructor
Multiple

Tuition:  $0.00

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Schedule Information

Skip dates: (No class on 11/26/2026)

Date(s) Class Days Times Location Instructor(s)
10/29/2026 - 12/10/2026 Weekly - Thu 01:15 PM - 03:15 PM Chicago, Wieboldt Hall  Map Laurie Toth  ; Timothy Atkins  ; Trudy Hobfoll