AS SEEN ON TV ONTARIO'S THE AGENDA WITH STEVE PAIKIN

FINALIST FOR THE 2019 ARTHUR ELLIS AWARD FOR BEST NON-FICTION CRIME BOOK

Known to history as “The Fighting Parson,” Reverend J.O.L. Spracklin broke into a notorious Windsor roadhouse one chilly November night in 1920 and shot and killed barkeep Beverly “Babe” Trumble. Easily acquitted by reason of self-defense, he never served a day of time. A provincial liquor license inspector already known for his brash tactics, Spracklin’s audacious tactics solidified across North America the Detroit-Windsor borderlands’ reputation as the new Wild West—an uncivilized outpost where whisky flowed freely, warrants were forged on the spot, and ministers toted guns to keep the peace.

To the rest of Ontario, a dry province, Spracklin was the saviour they’d been waiting for, the answer to the lawlessness of the Border Cities—that is, until he shot a man at point blank range. In this exploration of the period, decorated Ontario historian Patrick Brode unpacks this infamous piece of Prohibition lore and asks: Why did Babe Trumble die? What led to a hotheaded reverend taking the law into his own hands, killing a man, and getting away with it? Full of fire-and-brimstone preachers, crooked politicians, wily rum runners, grandstanding lawyers, and innocents caught in the crossfire, Dying for a Drink is a fascinating read that will captivate anyone interested in the real stories behind this fabled time.

Patrick Brode has written extensively on Canadian history and law. His works include a biography of one of Canada’s early jurists, Chief Justice John Robinson, as well as Courted and Abandoned, a study of the tort of seduction on the frontier. His more recent writing includes Death in the Queen City about the racially charged murder trial of Clara Ford in Toronto in 1895, The Slasher Killings, on the anti-gay hysteria that accompanied a serial killing in Windsor in 1945, as well as a survey of Canada’s investigation and prosecution of war crimes after the Second World War. Five of these works have been short-listed for Canadian book awards. Patrick was formerly a lecturer at the University of Windsor Faculty of Law. He lives in Windsor, Ontario, and has practiced law there since 1977.

Patrick Brode's profile page

PRAISE FOR DYING FOR A DRINK

“A brisk read that aptly describes Canada's temperance movement and the move towards prohibition...quite enjoyable.” —Canada's History

“Nicely researched...Fast-paced...This slim, lively volume illuminates Ontario’s pre–Jazz Age cultural and legal history and that of prohibition in an informative fashion.” —Publishers Weekly

“Brode brings to his account a wealth of local knowledge about Windsor and its Prohibition-era past...well researched and peppered with fascinating characters.” —Literary Review of Canada

“A fascinating book, thoroughly researched and tightly written.” —Windsor Life