The art of the con has a long and venerable tradition, and its female practitioners are some of the best-- or worst. Telfer introduces us to a host of lady swindlers whose scams ranged from the outrageous to the deadly. Among them: In 1700s Paris, Jeanne de Saint-Rémy scammed the royal jewelers out of a necklace made from six hundred and forty-seven diamonds by pretending she was best friends with Queen Marie Antoinette. Cassie Chadwick got banks to loan her upwards of $40,000 by telling people she was Andrew Carnegie's illegitimate daughter. In the 1970s teenager Roxie Ann Rice scammed the entire NFL. And the scams continue.... -- adapted from jacket.
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