The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum
The Rise and Fall of an American Organized-Crime Boss
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America’s first great organized-crime lord was a lady—a nice Jewish mother named Mrs. Mandelbaum. “A tour de force . . . With a pickpocket’s finesse, Margalit Fox lures us into the criminal underworld of Gilded Age New York.”—Liza Mundy, author of The Sisterhood In 1850, an impoverished twenty-five-year-old named Fredericka Mandelbaum came to New York in steerage and worked as a peddler on the streets of Lower Manhattan. By the 1870s she was a fixture of high society and an admired philanthropist. How was she able to ascend from tenement poverty to vast wealth? In the intervening years, “Marm” Mandelbaum had become the country’s most notorious “fence”—a receiver of stolen goods—and a criminal mastermind. By the mid-1880s as much as $10 million worth of purloined luxury goods (nearly $300 million today) had passed through her Lower East Side shop. Called “the nucleus and center of the whole organization of crime,” she planned robberies of cash, gold and diamonds throughout the country. But Mrs. Mandelbaum wasn’t just a successful crook: She was a business visionary—one of the first entrepreneurs in America to systemize the scattershot enterprise of property crime. Handpicking a cadre of the finest bank robbers, housebreakers and shoplifters, she handled logistics and organized supply chains—turning theft into a viable, scalable business. The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum paints a vivid portrait of Gilded Age New York—a city teeming with nefarious rogues, capitalist power brokers and Tammany Hall bigwigs, all straddling the line between underworld enterprise and “legitimate” commerce. Combining deep historical research with the narrative flair for which she is celebrated, Margalit Fox tells the unforgettable true story of a once-famous heroine whose life exemplifies America’s cherished rags-to-riches narrative while simultaneously upending it entirely.
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This is a captivating journey through the life of an unexpected criminal mastermind. This book offers a refreshing and intriguing perspective on crime in the late 19th century, centered around a Jewish woman who defied societal norms and expectations.
The author skillfully weaves together historical facts and engaging storytelling, bringing to life the cunning and charisma of this remarkable figure. As a reader, I found myself simultaneously shocked and impressed by Mandelbaum's ability to build and expand her criminal empire in a male-dominated underworld.
What makes this book particularly enjoyable is the detailed exploration of Mandelbaum's methods. From her humble beginnings to becoming the head of a vast criminal network, every step of her journey is meticulously documented. The author's research shines through, providing insights into the socio-economic landscape of New York City during this era and how Mandelbaum exploited its vulnerabilities.
Perhaps most impressive is the account of how Mandelbaum managed to evade law enforcement for so long. Her clever tactics, extensive connections, and sheer audacity make for a thrilling read.
For anyone interested in true crime, Jewish history, or women who challenged societal norms, "The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum" is a must-read.
I'm always curious to learn about different people, places, and periods in history that I have little to no knowledge of. In the case of The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum, I went in with absolutely no foreknowledge. In general, I'm not super well-versed in the era of the 1800s. The book discusses the rags-to-riches life story of Frederika Mandelbaum. Starting out as a peddler, she ended up with ties to the underworld and ultimately became an entrepreneur. With 19th Century New York as a backdrop, the book offers not only a biography of Mrs. Mandelbaum, but also a look at the climate of the times. The book is rich with photographs which add to the atmosphere. While I found the topic interesting and I was taken with the setting, I didn't latch onto Fredericka. The book had a tendency to stray, so maybe that was a contributing factor for me even though I did find the side players interesting as well. The topics of the book were another reason I struggled to connect on a personal level. Overall, the research is solid and is presented well. A good read for history lovers! A huge thanks to Random House and NetGalley for inviting me to read a digital ARC of the book!
