Clara at the Door with a Revolver

On the night of October 6, 1894, Frank Westwood was shot to death by an unknown assailant as he stood in the doorway of his home. Six weeks later, Clara Ford – a Black tailor and single mother known for wearing men’s attire – was arrested and confessed to the murder. But as the details of her arrest and her history with Westwood emerged, Clara recanted, testifying that she was coerced by police into a false confession. Carolyn Whitzman tells the story of a courageous Black woman in nineteenth-century Toronto and paints a portrait of a city and a society that have not changed enough in 125 years.

Whitzman does a deep dive to put this three-act tragedy in historical context…the story has been told many times, but not in quite the same way., Whitzman’s book...brings to light a unique case in the annals of Canadian criminal history involving one Clara Ford., Whitzman … brings to life a spectacular 1894 Toronto true crime case., The city’s seven newspapers in the 1890s were in competition for readership and often exaggerated or even fabricated facts to sell papers – but Whitzman tells the story in shades of grey., A fascinating exploration of a part of Toronto’s history that deserves a new telling.

Carolyn Whitzman is a writer and researcher who lives in Ottawa. She is the author of Suburb, Slum, Urban Village: Transformations in Parkdale, Toronto 1875–2000. She was living in Parkdale when she stumbled upon Clara Ford’s story and has remained fascinated with it for more than two decades.