Authors Miles Harvey and Emily Gray Tedrowe

Con men and women have captured our imaginations and headlines since the beginning of newspapers. Two Chicago authors  - Miles Harvey and Emily Gray Tedrowe - appeared on the CPL virtual stage for a conversation on their new books featuring stories of deception and intrigue.

Miles Havey's new book, The King of Confidence, digs into the strange and largely unknown story of James Strang and the singular moment in antebellum America that allowed him and the new breed of “confidence men” to thrive. He is also the author of The Island of Lost Maps and Painter in A Savage Land


Emily Gray Tedrowe's new book, The Talented Miss Farwell, was inspired by the true story of the woman who pulled off the biggest municipal fraud in U.S. history, embezzling over $50 million in a period spanning more than 20 years. Emily is also the author of Blue Stars and Commuters