The Typewriter and the Guillotine: An American Journalist, a German Serial Killer, and Paris on the Eve of WWII by John K. Wilson is a gripping historical true-crime narrative. It was published in February 2026 by St. Martin’s Press. The book weaves together three strands: the final days of 1930s Paris, the sensational 1939 trial of German serial killer Eugen Weidmann, and the extraordinary reporting of American journalist Jay Allen, who covered the execution for the Chicago Tribune.
Plot Overview
In the spring of 1939, Paris was a city caught between glamour and dread. War loomed. Refugees filled the streets. The government was unstable. Yet daily life continued—cafés buzzed, fashion shows went on, and newspapers sold out stories of scandal and violence.
Eugen Weidmann was a 29-year-old German drifter who arrived in France in 1937. Between 1937 and 1939 he committed at least six murders—luring victims with promises of money or work, then shooting or strangling them for cash and valuables. His crimes were bold and sloppy. He was arrested in June 1939 after a botched kidnapping left witnesses and led police straight to him.
The trial in Versailles that autumn became a media circus. Weidmann was handsome, calm, and polite in court. He confessed without remorse. The French public was obsessed. Newspapers ran daily updates. Photographers sneaked cameras into the courtroom. The guillotine—last used publicly in 1936—was prepared for a return performance.
Jay Allen, a 26-year-old Chicago Tribune correspondent, was assigned to cover the execution. France had announced it would be the last public guillotining in history. The spectacle was set for June 17, 1939, at dawn in front of Saint-Pierre prison in Versailles. Thousands gathered overnight. Allen positioned himself close to the machine. He filed one of the most vivid eyewitness accounts ever written of a beheading.
The book follows Allen’s reporting in the months leading up to the execution—his interviews with Weidmann in prison, his observations of French society on the brink of war, and his own growing unease about the bloodlust he witnessed. It also traces Weidmann’s path from petty crime in Germany to multiple murders in France, and the police investigation that finally caught him.
The execution itself is described in chilling detail. Weidmann was beheaded cleanly. The crowd surged forward. Souvenir hunters dipped handkerchiefs in his blood. Allen’s dispatch ran on front pages across America. Within weeks, France banned public executions forever. Two months later, Germany invaded Poland. World War II began.
Character Dynamics and Development
- Jay Allen — young, ambitious, and idealistic. He arrived in Paris seeking adventure and scoops. Covering Weidmann forced him to confront the spectacle of state violence and the dark side of human curiosity. The experience marked him; he later became a fierce critic of fascism and war.
- Eugen Weidmann — charismatic, intelligent, and utterly amoral. He showed no regret. His calm demeanor fascinated observers and fueled myths about him as a “gentleman killer.”
- The French public and press — portrayed as both horrified and morbidly fascinated. The execution became a strange national catharsis on the eve of catastrophe.
The dynamic between Allen and Weidmann is particularly compelling. Allen interviewed him multiple times. Weidmann treated the journalist with polite detachment, almost as if he were performing for posterity.
Key Themes
- The intersection of crime, media, and spectacle in the modern age.
- The last gasp of public execution in Europe and the shift toward private, bureaucratic punishment.
- Paris in 1939—beautiful, decadent, and blind to the catastrophe ahead.
- The role of American journalists as witnesses to European collapse.
- The thin line between justice and vengeance.
The tone is measured but vivid. Wilson writes with the pace of a thriller while grounding every detail in primary sources—court transcripts, Allen’s dispatches, French police files, and contemporary newspapers.
In short, this is a haunting, fast-moving read. It uses one gruesome execution to capture a city—and a continent—on the edge of the abyss. The typewriter (Allen’s reporting) and the guillotine (Weidmann’s fate) become symbols of a world about to plunge into total war. Perfect for fans of narrative nonfiction, true crime, pre-WWII history, and stories of journalists who witnessed history’s darkest moments.