Book Review: Sensational

Talia Whyte Books

I have been reading a lot of books lately that highlight the forgotten histories of people who are only now getting recognized.  The latest book I read was Sensational: The Hidden History of America’s Girl Stunt Reporters by Kim Todd, which focuses on pioneering women journalists at the turn of the 20th century.  When I was in journalism school, I only learned about Nelly Bly.  Even though Bly broke down barriers for women in media, because she was doing her work during the height of the “yellow journalism” era, she is not always seen as a “serious” journalist.

But history has been kinder to these reporters’ legacy and this book successfully highlights the women who helped launch a new kind of investigative journalism.  Their “stunt reporting” led to societal reform in the workplace and gender equality.  The book talks about Bly’s investigation into patient rights at an asylum, Ida B. Wells’s anti-lynching and women’s suffrage campaigns, and the “Girl Reporter” who exposed doctors and midwives who performed illegal abortions.  I also appreciated the profile of Victoria Earle Matthews, a black reporter turned community activist who founded a settlement home to help Black girls from the South find their footing in New York City.

In many journalism circles today, this type of reporting is still frowned upon, but some of the best journalism lately has come from female journalists doing just this type of work, Whether it is Gloria Steinem’s investigation into the Playboy club, Barbara Ehrenreich’s book on low-wage workers, Joan Didion’s encounter with a pre-school-age child who was given LSD by her parents, and even Nicole Hannah-Jones’s 1619 Project, today’s women journalists stand on the shoulders of the pioneers featured in this book.

Book Review: Confident Women

Talia Whyte Books

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!