Book Review: Confident Women
Again, Book TV is the place to be if you want to see the latest nonfiction books.
Author and journalist Tori Telfer specializes in writing about female criminality. She wrote a Jezebel column called “Lady Killers,” which looked at history’s most famous female serial killers. The column was eventually turned into a bestselling book with the same name. Telfer also hosts a podcast called “Criminal Broads.”
Her latest book is called Confident Women: Swindlers, Grifters, and Shapeshifters of the Feminine Persuasion. This book mostly focuses on non-violent scam artists and fraudsters. Famous con artists included are Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy, the legendary French thief who was partially responsible for starting the French Revolution and bringing down Marie Antoniette.
The book also focuses on the “Spiritualists,” the many women in history who produced scammy tricks for listening to the dead through conjure and “ectoplasm.” Jude Devereau, the famous novelist who lost millions of dollars to astrologist Joyce Michael, is also included in the book. Telfer also delves into the world of “Tragediennes,” women who took advantage of history’s most horrific events like 9/11 and the Pulse Nightclub shooting to gain money and attention.
Telfer concludes that all these women were successful in their respective frauds because they were perceived as likable. That likability supports their confidence to commit their crimes.
“If you like her – and you will like her – then her work will be so much easier,” Telfer says. “It’ll all be over quickly. You’ll hardly feel a thing.”
If you are looking for a fun, accessible read about nonviolent true crime, check out this book!