Greed in the Gilded Age: The Brilliant Con of Cassie Chadwick

by William Elliott Hazelgrove

Overview

Greed in the Gilded Age is a Gatsby-esque tale of mystery, money, sex, and scandal.

‘Millionaire’ had just entered the American lexicon and Cassie Chadwick was front page news, becoming a media sensation before mass media, even eclipsing President Roosevelt’s inauguration. Using these newspaper articles, Hazelgrove tells the story of one of the greatest cons in American history.

Combining the sexuality and helplessness her gender implied, Chadwick conned at least 2 million dollars, equivalent to about 60 million today, simply by claiming to be the illegitimate daughter and heir of steel titan, Andrew Carnegie. Playing to their greed, she was able to convince highly educated financiers to loan hundreds of thousands of dollars, on nothing more than a rumor and her word.

She was a product of her time and painting her as a criminal is only one way to look at it. Those times rewarded someone who was smart, inventive, bold, and aggressive. She was able to break through boundaries of class, education, and gender, to beat the men of the one percent at their own game.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538142905
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	02/15/2022
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	662,990
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

William Elliott Hazelgrove has a masters in history and is the best-selling author of ten novels and five narrative nonfiction books. His most recent publications include, Sally Rand: American Sex Symbol (Lyons Press), Knox's Noble Train: The Story of a Boston Bookseller's Heroic Expedition That Saved the American Revolution (Prometheus), Al Capone and the 1933 World's Fair: The End of the Gangster Era in Chicago (Rowman & Littlefield). He lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Table of Contents

A Note to the Reader

Prologue

Gilded Age

Chapter 1: The Trial of the Century

Chapter 2: The Chase

Chapter 3: The Immigrants

Chapter 4: A Genteel Victorian Twist

Chapter 5: The Cauldron of Greed

Chapter 6: The Tombs

Chapter 7: Mrs. Bastado

Chapter 8: The High Priestess of Fraudulent Finance

Chapter 9: Lady Liberty

Chapter 10: The Good Doctor

Chapter 11: Madame DeVere

Chapter 12: The Bank Failure

Chapter 13: The Homestead

Chapter 14: The Gold Standard

Chapter 15: The Carnegie Subpoena

Chapter 16: The Doctor and His Wife

Chapter 17: The Queen of Cleveland

Chapter 18: The Broken Man

Chapter 19: Setting the Hook

Chapter 20: The Trial of the Century Begins

Chapter 21: The Bait

Chapter 22: Survival of the Fittest

Chapter 23: The Switch

Chapter 24: The Work of a School Boy

Chapter 25: The Good Pastor

Chapter 26: Geronimo

Chapter 27: Cashing In

Chapter 28: A Jury of Farmers

Chapter 29: Amazing Times

Chapter 30: A Conspiracy to Defraud

Chapter 31: The Newton Loan

Chapter 32: Closing Arguments

Chapter 33: The Verdict

Chapter 34: The Sentence

Chapter 35: The Brilliant Con of Cassie Chadwick

Editorial Reviews

11/15/2021

Against the backdrop of the Gilded Age, Hazelgrove (Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson) briskly charts the career of scammer Cassie Chadwick. Born Elizabeth Bigley in 1857 in Canada, she forged checks as a young teen, was arrested, and later released on account of her age and on grounds of insanity. She later joined an older sister in America, where she changed her name multiple times, married three men for their money, and engaged in various scams. Her greatest con came under the name of Cassie Chadwick. As a wealthy doctor’s wife, Chadwick spent a fortune on European trips, diamonds, and designer clothes. Claiming to be the illegitimate daughter of Andrew Carnegie, she persuaded banks to loan her money based on forged promissory notes from Carnegie and vague promises. But it all came crashing down in 1904 when she was arrested by federal agents and tried and convicted of conspiracy to defraud the Citizens Bank of Oberlin. In 1905, her trial made bigger headlines than the inauguration of President Theodore Roosevelt. She died in prison in 1907. Excerpts from newspaper stories of the day dramatize the sensational proceedings. True crime fans will devour this sad, cautionary tale of a brilliant woman brought down by greed. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

NetGalley Review: 5 stars

Last updated on 24 Jan 2022

"I’m extremely interested in history in the gilded age is my favorite. This is an extremely fast paced book on a provocative true story. Highly recommend!"—Lynn Beck, Washington Post Mag

From the Publisher

01/01/2022

Hazelgrove (Sally Rand: American Sex Symbol) chronicles the life and crimes of Cassie Chadwick, who, during the Gilded Age, scammed bankers out of millions of dollars, causing one bank failure and leading to the death of the head of a bank. Chadwick convinced prominent bankers, attorneys, and a reverend that she was the illegitimate daughter of industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie; she even dropped by Carnegie's home to pretend to retrieve promissory notes. When her scam came to light, she was prosecuted; the ensuing trial generated so much press that Carnegie himself sat in to observe. Hazelgrove vividly sets the scene, drawing intriguing parallels and contrasts between Carnegie and Chadwick—Carnegie ruthlessly punished striking workers who were protesting unsafe working conditions, while Chadwick broke the law in the pursuit of wealth, yet only Chadwick was held accountable. The delightfully sensationalist writing ("questions that rained down like nails into his soul") evokes the yellow journalism of the era. VERDICT Readers curious about the Gilded Age or who enjoy stories of con artists will appreciate Hazelgrove's lively tale of a most ambitious grifter.—Karen Sandlin Silverman

Library Journal

The con of the century is told through countless quotes and firsthand reports, bringing to life the socialites, robber barons, unsuspecting bankers, and law enforcement officers. The Gilded Age is explored as well, placing the con in context and painting a lifelike portrait of the times amid the plethora of scandals hitting newspapers. Bestselling author Hazelgrove brings a sensational tale little-told in the modern day to new readers in stunning detail. While brilliantly written and appealing to fans of true crime, seasoned readers of history and nonfiction will feel the most at home with the text.

Booklist

Very rarely do I use the word “perfect” to describe a book, but Greed in the Gilded Age by William Elliott Hazelgrove certainly comes close! Overall, the story of Cassie Chadwick’s life is interesting on its own, but William Hazelgrove has given it new depth through his thoroughness and talent with situating a story in history.

The Biased Bibliophile