{"product_id":"the-adventuress-murder-blackmail-and-confidence-games-in-the-gilded-age-hardcover","title":"The Adventuress: Murder, Blackmail, and Confidence Games in the Gilded Age - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMcConnell\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe engaging tale of a nineteenth-century black widow\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntrigue, deception, bribery, poison, murder--all play a central role in the story of Minnie Walkup, a young woman from New Orleans who began her life of crime when she was only sixteen years old.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBorn in 1869 to Elizabeth and James Wallace, Minnie was a natural beauty and attended convent school where she learned social graces and how to play the piano. After the divorce of her parents, she was raised in multiple boardinghouses owned by her mother, and at one of them, met her first husband, James Reeves Walkup. At sixteen, she married Walkup, a forty-nine-year-old successful businessman and acting mayor of Emporia, Kansas. One month later, Walkup died from arsenic poisoning and his young wife was accused of murdering him. Her trial became one of the most sensational cases in Kansas history and was covered by reporters across the nation.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Adventuress\u003c\/em\u003e details Minnie Walkup's remarkable life and criminal activities. Using newspaper articles, census and probate records, and descendants' reports, true crime writer Virginia A. McConnell depicts a captivating story that is full of scandal, gossip, theft, and murder and that includes events taking place across the South and Midwest. McConnell reveals a fascinating cast of characters revolving around Minnie Walkup, including a former Louisiana governor and senator, a prominent Ohio banking family, the partner of a famous railway tycoon, and a sleazy district court judge from New Orleans. \u003cem\u003eThe Adventuress\u003c\/em\u003e offers a Gilded Age soap opera that seems too far-fetched to be what it is--true.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA substantial contribution to crime history, \u003cem\u003eThe Adventuress\u003c\/em\u003e is a welcome addition to any true crime reader's collection.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eVirginia A. McConnell\u003c\/strong\u003e is an acclaimed writer of historical true crime books, including \u003cem\u003eArsenic Under the Elms: Murder in Victorian New Haven, Sympathy for the Devil: The Emmanuel Baptist Murders of Old San Francisco, \u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eFatal Fortune: The Death of Chicago's Millionaire Orphan.\u003c\/em\u003e She currently serves as an English instructor at Walla Walla Community College-Clarkston Campus in the state of Washington.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 264\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.94 x 9.28 x 6.6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e March 25, 2010\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eAward:\u003c\/strong\u003e Independent Publisher Book Awards (2011)\u003c\/div\u003e\n                ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47509796978866,"sku":"9781606350348","price":32.35,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0770\/3891\/1666\/files\/QiDdYwTgHL9781606350348.webp?v=1779636088","url":"https:\/\/box.dadyminds.org\/products\/the-adventuress-murder-blackmail-and-confidence-games-in-the-gilded-age-hardcover","provider":"DADYMINDS BOX","version":"1.0","type":"link"}