I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by NetGalley. I was not compensated for this review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own. I was not required to write a positive review.
The Trial of Patty Hearst by Celine Fitzmaurice Series: Trials of the Century Collection #3
Published by Classic Crime Limited on August 26, 2026
Pages: 66
Format: ARC, Audiobook
Source: NetGalley
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*A true story that divided America*
Was Patty Hearst guilty? What's your verdict?
A 90-minute standalone full-cast audio-drama. Available as an audiobook, it draws on the DNA of radio plays and documentary dramas.
Release date: Women’s Equality Day — 26 August 2026
Fifty years ago, newspaper heiress Patty Hearst entered a San Francisco courtroom accused of armed bank robbery, two years after her dramatic kidnapping by the radical Symbionese Liberation Army. By then, America had already watched one of the strangest public transformations of the decade unfold: a young woman seized by political extremists who later appeared in bank security photographs carrying a rifle alongside them.
Her trial was an inquisition: was she a victim, an accomplice, or something far harder to define?
This immersive courtroom production revisits one of the most psychologically complex legal dramas of the twentieth century.
Drawn from the original trial transcripts and contemporary reporting, this full-cast audio drama recreates the key courtroom exchanges between prosecution and defence as they wrestle with coercion, ideology, trauma, and personal responsibility. At the centre lies a question that felt startlingly modern even then: what happens when a captive appears to adopt the beliefs of their captors?
Among those who publicly supported Hearst was Truman Capote, who argued that her behaviour should be understood through the emerging psychological framework then popularly associated with Stockholm syndrome — a concept still new, contested, and imperfectly understood at the time.
Her trial became not merely a criminal proceeding, but a wider cultural argument about free will, influence, privilege, media spectacle, and the ways women are judged under extraordinary pressure.
The Trial of Patty Hearst: The Captive Mind is the third title in the Trials of the Century audiobook series, following The Trial of Leopold and Loeb and The Trial of Dr Crippen. The next title in the series is The Trial of Lizzie Borden.
Things I should have done before listening to this book: Updated my knowledge about Patty Hearst. Not the description of the book. Not my shaky knowledge of something that happened when I was one year old. The trial and verdict, that is; the rest was honestly and literally before my time. This will be important later . . . not my age, but my shaky knowledge. Okay, maybe there is only one, but it feels huge, like it should be a list of its own. I have pop culture knowledge but no real solid learnin’. And this is something I think about randomly. At what point is pop culture knowledge enough, and what events of history deserve more? With my interest in human behavior and the ‘what makes someone tick,’ I think this is something that does deserve more from me. There’s a lot to unpack overall with the ideas of Stockholm syndrome, brainwashing, and mind control.
There’s not a ton to talk about with this book. I mean, it’s only 90 minutes total in listening time. It’s a cool setup, though. A full dramatization of a host of voices sharing key transcripts of the actual trial. There’s just enough brief ‘pop culture’ setup to the trial excerpts to give the basics. What happened when she was kidnapped. Who took responsibility for it and what they wanted. Just enough to find an audience but not enough to really know what happened. Very podcast vibe, and I feel like Dateline could have done more with the story in less time invested. But here’s the thing: it’s not the be all end all story of Patty Hearst. It’s a dramatization of parts of the trial. Not the whole trial, just a fraction of all that was shared. It’s a great launching point for those interested in learning more. It’s a great supplement for those that have a lot of knowledge. And it’s a great snippet for those who just like true crime.
Honestly, I’m all of those things to some degree. I can appreciate the book for exactly what it is while also wanting to add some additional reading to my ever-growing list of things I think I need to know more about. And hello true crime, I mean I do go to bed every night with some Dateline. The setup was unique and engaging. The story is very real. Honestly, it comes down to one word for me . . . More. But this isn’t the book for more; this is the book to set you up to seek more. And for that, it was brilliant.
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