The Fake Heiress: The Greatest Con Artist of the Gilded Age

Elizabeth Bigley, a native of a small town in the Canadian province, discovered her talent for persuasion and cunning schemes at a young age. It was this ability that would make her one of the most famous con artists in history. Changing names and inventing new tricks, Cassie Chadwick managed to live for 14 years on credit, backed by forged promissory notes, enchanting one banker after another, and convincing everyone around her that she was the daughter of the famous Andrew Carnegie. This book by writer Annie Reed tells one of the most gripping stories of American society at the end of the 19th century.
«Cassie left behind neither buildings nor charitable foundations. Instead, she left a mystery. For most of her life, she lived under false identities, and none of her characters — neither Lyle Springsteen, nor Maisie Bagley, nor Madame Devere, nor Mrs. Hoover — ever confessed to any crimes» (Annie Reed).