Annie Reed

This true crime story from the Gilded Age describes how a young Canadian woman from an average family reinvented herself as the illegitimate daughter of Andrew Carnegie and scammed Ohio bankers out of thousands of dollars. For a time, Cassie Chadwick found it easy to “borrow from Peter to pay Paul,” until suddenly it wasn’t. The author, who has degrees in both law and history, relied heavily on newspaper accounts. There ought to be court records, prison records, and other primary show more sources against which the newspaper accounts could be verified, but the only court records listed in the bibliography are from the appeals court. The book will appeal most to those with an interest in Cleveland and Oberlin College history. show less

Cassie Chadwick was one of the greatest swindlers of her time. Using forged documents, she convinced men she was Andrew Carnegie's illegitimate daughter. Many Ohio bankers lost money in her scams. The author over-relied on newspapers when other documents that would have made the story much richer should have been readily available. It's an interesting story, but a little more research would have made it more useful.

DNF @ 35%
This book is fine- writing is good enough, but I'm not the authors' intended audience.