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The ghosts of Eden Park : the bootleg king, the women who pursued him, and the murder that shocked jazz-age America
2019
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Library Journal Review
Abbott (Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy) chronicles the involvement of several vivid Jazz Age figures in a famed scandal and courtroom trial. George Remus, "King of the Bootleggers," was a German immigrant who practiced law before turning to bootlegging. He began a fateful affair with his legal secretary, Augusta Imogene Holmes, in 1920. The two occupied center stage in Cincinnati, enjoying the perks of their considerable windfall; they were known for lighting cigars with $100 bills. Remus was adept at using his knowledge of the legal system to sidestep the Volstead Act, until his hubris got the better of him and an earnest U.S. Assistant Attorney General, Mabel Walker Willebrandt, nailed him for numerous violations. Willebrandt's protégé, Franklin Dodge, encountered Remus during this two-year stint in a penitentiary while working undercover. Dodge resigned and embarked on an affair with Imogene, dissolving her husband's assets and plotting his demise. But Remus gets there first, leading to his trial for Imogene's murder; bits of testimony are interspersed throughout. VERDICT Abbot keeps up the momentum and suspense while giving her substantial characters their due. Recommended for fans of historical true crime, such as Mary Cummings's Saving Sin City; fans of HBO's Boardwalk Empire will also devour this juicy read.--Barrie Olmstead, Lewiston P.L., ID
Publishers Weekly Review
Bestseller Abbott (Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War) revives an obscure cause célèbre in this engrossing true crime narrative. Relying heavily on primary sources, including trial transcripts, Abbott asserts in an author's note that she "accurately depict detailed scenes and entire conversations and reveal characters' thoughts, gestures, personalities, and histories." That approach pays off from the start with a dramatic prologue set in 1927, in which a man's pursuit of a woman in Cincinnati's Eden Park ends with a gunshot. The reader later learns that they are George Remus, an attorney turned bootlegger, and his wife, Imogene. Prohibition, which became law in 1920, provided Remus with a golden opportunity to capitalize on the nation's thirst for alcohol. Corrupt government officials at the highest levels of the Justice Department abetted his illegal schemes in exchange for bribes. The book's hero is pioneering prosecutor Mabel Willebrandt, the U.S. assistant attorney general in charge of enforcing the Volstead Act, who was able to convict Remus in 1922 for violating the act. After Remus completed his sentence, frictions between him and Imogene led to her murder; that crime set the stage for an extraordinary trial in which Remus both represented himself--and asserted that he should be found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity. This real-life page-turner will appeal to fans of Erik Larson. Agent: Simon Lipskar, Writers House. (Aug.)
Summary
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * The epic true crime story of the most successful bootlegger in American history and the murder that shocked the nation, from the New York Times bestselling author of Sin in the Second City and Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy

"Gatsby-era noir at its best."--Erik Larson

An ID Book Club Selection * NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST HISTORY BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY SMITHSONIAN

In the early days of Prohibition, long before Al Capone became a household name, a German immigrant named George Remus quits practicing law and starts trafficking whiskey. Within two years he's a multi-millionaire. The press calls him "King of the Bootleggers," writing breathless stories about the Gatsby-esque events he and his glamorous second wife, Imogene, host at their Cincinnati mansion, with party favors ranging from diamond jewelry for the men to brand-new cars for the women. By the summer of 1921, Remus owns 35 percent of all the liquor in the United States.

Pioneering prosecutor Mabel Walker Willebrandt is determined to bring him down. Willebrandt's bosses at the Justice Department hired her right out of law school, assuming she'd pose no real threat to the cozy relationship they maintain with Remus. Eager to prove them wrong, she dispatches her best investigator, Franklin Dodge, to look into his empire. It's a decision with deadly consequences. With the fledgling FBI on the case, Remus is quickly imprisoned for violating the Volstead Act. Her husband behind bars, Imogene begins an affair with Dodge. Together, they plot to ruin Remus, sparking a bitter feud that soon reaches the highest levels of government--and that can only end in murder.

Combining deep historical research with novelistic flair, The Ghosts of Eden Park is the unforgettable, stranger-than-fiction story of a rags-to-riches entrepreneur and a long-forgotten heroine, of the excesses and absurdities of the Jazz Age, and of the infinite human capacity to deceive.

Praise for The Ghosts of Eden Park

"An exhaustively researched, hugely entertaining work of popular history that . . . exhumes a colorful crew of once-celebrated characters and restores them to full-blooded life. . . . [Abbott's] métier is narrative nonfiction and--as this vibrant, enormously readable book makes clear--she is one of the masters of the art." -- The Wall Street Journal

"Satisfyingly sensational and thoroughly researched." -- The Columbus Dispatch

"Absorbing . . . a Prohibition-era page-turner." -- Chicago Tribune
Table of Contents
Author's Notep. xv
Prologue: Reckoning, 1927p. xvii
Part IThe Pursued and the Pursuing
All the Rope He Wantsp. 3
Testimony of Marie Remusp. 10
The Circlep. 11
Life has Few Petted Darlingsp. 18
Testimony of A. W. Brockwayp. 27
Daddyp. 29
Mabelmenp. 35
Testimony of Carlos Clapperp. 42
A Man's Home Is His Castlep. 43
Tear the Heart Out of Washingtonp. 50
Testimony of Emanuel Kesslerp. 59
A Terrible, Terrible Screamp. 60
Testimony of Emmett Kirginp. 65
A Middle Finger of Unusual Prominencep. 66
Dynamitep. 76
Testimony of Henry Spilkerp. 82
The Brainstormsp. 84
Testimony of George L. Winklerp. 91
The Wielders of the Soapp. 92
The Ace of Investigatorsp. 97
Testimony of Frieda Schneiderp. 100
Vigor and Vim Unexcelledp. 101
Testimony of Olive Weber Longp. 108
A Disturbance in Room 902p. 110
Catalystp. 116
Testimony of Oscar Ernie Melvinp. 125
Part IICareless People
A Bolt from the Bluep. 129
Testimony of Orin Weberp. 137
Not Mrs. Remus Any Longerp. 138
That Social Pervert, That Social Leper, That Social Parasitep. 146
Testimony of John S. Bergerp. 155
None the Worse for Itp. 156
A Pearl-Handled Revolverp. 164
Testimony of Julia F. Brownp. 171
A Ghost at the Doorp. 173
Testimony of Imogene Remusp. 180
Don't Let Him Catch You Asleepp. 181
Testimony of George Connersp. 186
No Quarterp. 188
Testimony of William Hoefftp. 195
The Hitmanp. 196
Testimony of Ethel Bachmanp. 200
Blood on the Primrose Pathp. 201
Testimony of Ruth Remusp. 206
What a Beautiful Morning It Isp. 207
Part IIIThe Colossal Vitality of his Illusion
The Smiling Charlie Taftp. 217
Remus's Brain Explodedp. 224
The Loosest Kind of a Tonguep. 234
High-Class Gentlemenp. 238
Alienist No. 1p. 246
Conspiraciesp. 250
Alienist No. 2p. 253
A Blank About Everything That Happenedp. 255
Alienist No. 3p. 260
The Arch-Conspirator of All Agesp. 262
Déjà Vu in Price Hillp. 267
Sun in Scorpiop. 278
Very Emotional, Somewhat Unstablep. 282
American Justicep. 290
Probate Court Testimony of George Remusp. 300
The Unfortunate Womanp. 302
A Hammer to the Angelsp. 309
Acknowledgmentsp. 321
Bibliographyp. 325
Notesp. 329
Indexp. 387
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