Confident Women

 Confident Women: Swindlers, Grifters, and Shapeshifters of the Feminine Persuasion by Tori Telfer, 352 pages.

Tori Telfer follows the history of female cons and grifters from the 18th century to present. The book is roughly sorted by the general types of scams the women pulled off, and it gives the overall impression of a very thorough treatment of the topic. Although mostly centered in America, Telfer also takes the occasional field trip to other parts of the world, furthering this impression of a broad view. 

In addition to relating the facts of the case and the specifics of the stories that these women told, Telfer spends a lot of time considering why we, societally, are so fascinated by grifters. Their feats of audacity made many of these women media sensations in their own times, and the allure does not seem to have faded. I listened to the audiobook, which really had the feeling of being told outrageous stories. I think this, more than anything else, really made the newspaper readers ravenous for more details very relatable to me. This is a light, fascinating nonfiction work. I would definitely recommend it to people who like reading about crimes that lean towards the spectacular, emphasis on the spectacle.