NCJ Number
166935
Date Published
1995
Length
274 pages
Annotation
Blackmailers, swindlers, pickpockets and other confidence women of the 19th century are described, based on memoirs, diaries, detective reports, newspaper accounts, and sociological studies written during the period.
Abstract
The discussion begins with an analysis of the historical context. It compares the activities of specific women to those of fictional women who used the same strategies in noncriminal situations and thus broadens the definition of the confidence woman beyond criminality to include adventurers, soldiers and spies, and those considered to be gold diggers. The analysis also focuses on the narrative devices used by female writers of the 19th century who used a kind of confidence game to lure their readers into their texts. Case examples described include Sophie Lyons, who lured wealthy merchants to her hotel room and divested them of their clothes and money; Cassie Chadwick, who devised an elaborate scheme as Andrew Carnegie's heir to swindle millions of dollars from bankers; Loreta Janeta Velazquez, who disguised herself to fight for the South during the Civil War; Chicago May Churchill; Big Bertha Heyman; and Ellen Peck. Footnotes and approximately 200 references (Publisher summary modified)