This is a tale of greed, opulence, chicanery, and the Gilded Age hope and belief that a pot of gold was just around the corner.

At a time when women did not even have the vote, Cassie Chadwick managed to get millions of dollars in unsecured loans from American banks willing to lend on a rumor that she was the illegitimate child of Andrew Carnegie. It is an amazing con and shows the brilliance of the criminal mind that was Elizabeth Bigley and the desperation to have it all at a time when easy money and fabulous wealth seduced rational people into flights of fancy that would result in the ruin of a banking system, destruction of reputations and lives and the embarrassment that a woman who had changed her name no less than three times had taken the wealthiest rung of society for a ride. The con of Cassie Chadwick is a cautionary tale of easy money, avarice, and the belief there is something better over the next hill.

About the Author

William Hazelgrove is the National Bestselling author of ten novels and seven nonfiction titles. His books have received starred reviews in Publisher Weekly Kirkus, Booklist, Book of the Month Selections, ALA Editor's Choice Awards Junior Library Guild Selections, Literary Guild Selections, History Book Club Selections and optioned for the movies. He was the Ernest Hemingway Writer in Residence where he wrote in the attic of Ernest Hemingway's birthplace. He has written articles and reviews for USA Today, The Smithsonian Magazine, and other publications and has been featured on NPR All Things Considered. The New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, CSPAN, USA Today have all covered his books with features. His books Tobacco Sticks, The Pitcher, Real Santa, and Madam President have been optioned for screen and television rights. His book Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson is currently in development. He has four forthcoming books. Sally Rand American Sex Symbol, Morristown The Kidnapping of George Washington, The Brilliant Con of Cassie Chadwick, and One Hundred and Sixty Minutes: the Race to Save the Titanic.

Book Information
ISBN 9781538142905
Author William Elliott Hazelgrove
Format Hardback
Page Count 216
Imprint Rowman & Littlefield
Publisher Rowman & Littlefield
Weight(grams) 463g
Dimensions(mm) 240mm * 163mm * 22mm