Overview

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 this fascinating woman’s notorious career, 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.

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9781606354292

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Reviews

In this long-awaited biography, Cassie Chadwick finally gets the treatment she deserves as a world-class adventuress and one of the most successful con artists of all time. --Laura James, author of The Beauty Defense: Femmes Fatales on Trial Lizzie Bigley had reinvented herself several times before settling on what would be her 'legacy' as Cassie Chadwick, Queen of the Con. Thomas Crowl's delightful report of 'Cassie's Excellent Adventure' is spirited, engaging, and even hilarious in parts. --Virginia A. McConnell, author of The Adventuress: Murder, Blackmail, and Confidence Games in the Gilded Age An engrossing chronicle of the criminal career of Cassie Chadwick. By the time her epic financial shell game was exposed, she had fleeced shrewd businessmen, caused bank failures, destroyed the life savings of countless small investors, and earned the title of Queen of the Con. --George R. Dekle Sr., Professor Emeritus, Levin College of Law, author of The East River Ripper: The Mysterious 1891 Murder of Old Shakespeare Weaving meticulous research with first-rate storytelling, Crowl has written about an extraordinary con woman. --Jane Ann Turzillo, author of Agatha-nominated Wicked Women of Ohio and Wicked Women of Northeast Ohio

"""In this long-awaited biography, Cassie Chadwick finally gets the treatment she deserves as a world-class adventuress and one of the most successful con artists of all time."" —Laura James, author of The Beauty Defense: Femmes Fatales on Trial ""Lizzie Bigley had reinvented herself several times before settling on what would be her 'legacy' as Cassie Chadwick, Queen of the Con. Thomas Crowl's delightful report of 'Cassie's Excellent Adventure' is spirited, engaging, and even hilarious in parts.""—Virginia A. McConnell, author of The Adventuress: Murder, Blackmail, and Confidence Games in the Gilded Age ""An engrossing chronicle of the criminal career of Cassie Chadwick. By the time her epic financial shell game was exposed, she had fleeced shrewd businessmen, caused bank failures, destroyed the life savings of countless small investors, and earned the title of Queen of the Con.""—George R. Dekle Sr., Professor Emeritus, Levin College of Law, author of The East River Ripper: The Mysterious 1891 Murder of Old Shakespeare ""Weaving meticulous research with first-rate storytelling, Crowl has written about an extraordinary con woman.""—Jane Ann Turzillo, author of Agatha-nominated Wicked Women of Ohio and Wicked Women of Northeast Ohio ""A true crime biography that reads with all the inherent and fascinated interest of a deftly crafted novel."" —Midwest Book Review ""Well-researched [and] engaging…. Crowl offers an eye-opening and often amusing romp through a more innocent time, when trust was easily earned and just as easily abused."" —Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine"

Author Information

Thomas Crowl is an avocational historian who has published two previous books, Murder of a Journalist (published by Kent State University Press) and Opdycke’s Tigers in the Civil War. His articles have appeared in Timeline, Echoes, History Magazine, and the Central States Archaeological Journal.

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