Ultimate Folly: The Rises and Falls of Whitaker Wright: the World's Most Shameless Swindler - Couverture rigide

MacRory, Henry

 
9781785903786: Ultimate Folly: The Rises and Falls of Whitaker Wright: the World's Most Shameless Swindler
Couverture rigide
ISBN 10 : 1785903780 ISBN 13 : 9781785903786
Editeur : Biteback Publishing, 2018

Synopsis

A gripping story of greed, treachery and ruthless ambition.

Few people have led such an extraordinary life as Whitaker Wright. Few have died in such sensational circumstances. Beginning his career as an impoverished preacher, Wright crossed the Atlantic to prospect for gold, surviving a Native American massacre before he made his fortune. Then the bubble burst. Leaving behind a string of angry investors, he fled to England to start again. Soon he was one of the world's richest men.

At his 10,000-acre estate in Surrey, he employed an entourage of seventy-seven staff, moved a hill that blocked his view and built an underwater glass smoking room. On his vast steam yacht, he entertained the Prince of Wales, the Kaiser and half of Britain's aristocracy.

His downfall was as dramatic as his ascent. On the last trading day of the nineteenth century, his financial empire which he had propped up by cooking the books went belly up. This time, the trail of furious investors stretched all the way to the Prime Minister. With the police in hot pursuit, Wright fled to New York, but his escape was short-lived. At the end of what the press dubbed the most dramatic trial of modern times he was sentenced to seven years in jail. Minutes later, he sprang a last dreadful surprise...

Other great swindlers have followed in Wright's footsteps, but none have surpassed him in daring and shamelessness. Drawing on family papers and archives from around the world, this compelling account of Wright s life reads like a thriller and offers an insight into the mind of the ultimate gambler and conman.

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À propos de l'auteur

During a long Fleet Street career, Henry Macrory was deputy editor and acting editor of the Sunday Express. For several years he was a Westminster-based political correspondent. He moved from newspapers into political communications and worked in 10 Downing Street for the Coalition Government. He now lives in Oxford and specialises in writing family histories.

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Éditeur
Biteback Publishing
Date d'édition
2018
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
1785903780
ISBN 13 
9781785903786
Reliure
Relié
Numéro d'édition
1
Nombre de pages
356
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
non disponible