Queen of the Con
eBook - ePub

Queen of the Con

From a Spiritualist to the Carnegie Imposter

  1. 320 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Queen of the Con

From a Spiritualist to the Carnegie Imposter

About this book

The definitive account of audacious con woman Cassie Chadwick, the Carnegie Imposter

Queen of the Con tells the true story of Cassie Chadwick, a successful swindler and "one of the top 10 imposters of all time, " according to Time magazine. Born Betsy Bigley in 1857 in Canada, she first operated as Madame Devere, a European clairvoyant, and in 1890 was arrested for defrauding a Toledo bank of $20, 000. In the mid-1890s, while working as a madam in Cleveland, Cassie met and married a widowed physician with a coveted Euclid Avenue address.

At the dawn of the 20th century, Cassie borrowed $2 million (worth roughly $50 million today) throughout northern Ohio, Pittsburgh, New York, and Boston by convincingly posing as the illegitimate daughter of wealthy industrialist-turned-philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.

When the fraud collapsed in 1904, it was a nationwide sensation. "Yes, I borrowed money in very large amounts, " she told reporters, "but what of it? You can't accuse a poor businesswoman of being a criminal, can you?" Carnegie, who never responded to the claim, merely joked that Mrs. Chadwick had demonstrated that his credit was still good.

This meticulously researched book is the first full-length account of the notorious career of this fascinating woman, the forerunner to more recent female scammers like Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes or fake heiress Anna Sorokin, the "Soho Grifter." Crowl's engaging storytelling also leads readers to consider aspects of gender stereotypes, social and economic class structures, and the ways in which we humans can so often be fooled.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, you can cancel anytime from the Subscription tab in your account settings on the Perlego website. Your subscription will stay active until the end of your current billing period. Learn how to cancel your subscription.
No, books cannot be downloaded as external files, such as PDFs, for use outside of Perlego. However, you can download books within the Perlego app for offline reading on mobile or tablet. Learn more here.
Perlego offers two plans: Essential and Complete
  • Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
  • Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Both plans are available with monthly, semester, or annual billing cycles.
We are an online textbook subscription service, where you can get access to an entire online library for less than the price of a single book per month. With over 1 million books across 1000+ topics, we’ve got you covered! Learn more here.
Look out for the read-aloud symbol on your next book to see if you can listen to it. The read-aloud tool reads text aloud for you, highlighting the text as it is being read. You can pause it, speed it up and slow it down. Learn more here.
Yes! You can use the Perlego app on both iOS or Android devices to read anytime, anywhere — even offline. Perfect for commutes or when you’re on the go.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Yes, you can access Queen of the Con by Thomas Crowl in PDF and/or ePUB format. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher
The Kent State University Press
Year
2021
eBook ISBN
9781631014635

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Contents
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Introduction
  7. Chapter One: Miss Bigley, Heiress to $15,000
  8. Chapter Two: Madame Devere, European Clairvoyant
  9. Chapter Three: Family Troubles
  10. Chapter Four: A Clear Forgery
  11. Chapter Five: An Unprincipled Adventuress
  12. Chapter Six: A Most Novel and Unique Defense
  13. Chapter Seven: Guilty as Charged
  14. Chapter Eight: A Sort of a Business Arrangement
  15. Chapter Nine: The Greatest Bull Market in History
  16. Chapter Ten: Splendid Business
  17. Chapter Eleven: H. Clark Ford and the Oberlin College Loans
  18. Chapter Twelve: The Carnegie Notes
  19. Chapter Thirteen: Frenzied Finance
  20. Chapter Fourteen: Absurd!
  21. Chapter Fifteen: A Most Unpleasant Duty
  22. Chapter Sixteen: Simply a Sucker
  23. Chapter Seventeen: Chadwicked
  24. Chapter Eighteen: A Noble Thing
  25. Chapter Nineteen: A Most Dangerous Criminal
  26. Chapter Twenty: No Artistic Taste and No Culture
  27. Chapter Twenty-One: Enchantress in Her Last Home
  28. Notes
  29. Bibliography
  30. Index