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The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
The riveting story of how the murder of femme fatale Vivian Gordon in 1931 brought about the downfall of the mayor of New York City and led to the end of Tammany Hall’s dominance. Vivian Gordon went out before midnight in a velvet dress and mink coat. Her body turned up the next morning in a desolate Bronx park, a dirty clothesline wrapped around her neck. At her stylish Manhattan apartment, detectives discovered notebooks full of names—businessmen, socialites, gangsters. And something a letter from an anti-corruption commission established by Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Led by the imperious Judge Samuel Seabury, the commission had uncovered a police conspiracy to frame women as prostitutes. Had Vivian Gordon been executed to bury her secrets? As FDR pressed the police to solve her murder, Judge Seabury pursued the trail of corruption to the top of Gotham’s powerful political machine—the infamous Tammany Hall.
356 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 6, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 92 reviews
May 2, 2024
I love it when I see people mentioned that I've read about in other books. When you read as much Nonfiction as me I guess it's bound to happen.
Bishop and the Butterfly is about the horrific murder of Vivian Gordon. Gordon who went by several aliases had lived a rough life. The justice system had severely fucked her over and so she turned to a life of hustling rich and powerful men to survive. So when she was murdered and her diary containing the names of the Jazz Age New York's most powerful men, it became quite the tabloid story. Vivian may have been a hustler and "fallen women" in life but in death she helped change New York City forever and helped get the Governor of New York elected President.
I first heard about this book from a True Crime podcast. They podcast talked about the case but didn't give much away so I'll do the same. It's best to just let this story unfold. This murder may have taken taken place over 90 years ago but it reads like a Mystery novel. Overall I enjoyed this book even if I think he had too many characters. I understand that he did vast amounts of research but a couple of the characters he focused on were not the most interesting. I also would have loved to learn more about Vivian Gordon but I understand that it was probably difficult to find out much about her. Separating fact from fiction about Vivian Gordon must have been tough.
The Bishop and the Butterfly is a well researched and twist filled peek at a very interesting part of History that had wider implications for the whole country.
Bishop and the Butterfly is about the horrific murder of Vivian Gordon. Gordon who went by several aliases had lived a rough life. The justice system had severely fucked her over and so she turned to a life of hustling rich and powerful men to survive. So when she was murdered and her diary containing the names of the Jazz Age New York's most powerful men, it became quite the tabloid story. Vivian may have been a hustler and "fallen women" in life but in death she helped change New York City forever and helped get the Governor of New York elected President.
I first heard about this book from a True Crime podcast. They podcast talked about the case but didn't give much away so I'll do the same. It's best to just let this story unfold. This murder may have taken taken place over 90 years ago but it reads like a Mystery novel. Overall I enjoyed this book even if I think he had too many characters. I understand that he did vast amounts of research but a couple of the characters he focused on were not the most interesting. I also would have loved to learn more about Vivian Gordon but I understand that it was probably difficult to find out much about her. Separating fact from fiction about Vivian Gordon must have been tough.
The Bishop and the Butterfly is a well researched and twist filled peek at a very interesting part of History that had wider implications for the whole country.
February 16, 2024
NetGalley ARC audio
In 1931 Vivian Gordon was murdered in a park. At her home, her diary was discovered and the contents brought down Tammany Hall and helped FDR run for president.
Vivian lived a difficult life. A trumped up prostitution charge separated her from her daughter, her only source of income was at the indulgence of the men in her life. She was at one time a Madam and kept records of her dealings with the police and other important men. Her life is told in some detail, and she is treated with respect.
This book is not only about Vivian's murder and subsequent trial. It is a great summary of NYC politics starting in the 18th century. The details of Vivian's diary spur Judge Seabury to put the justice system under a microscope, trying to weed out corruption. NY Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt is must decide to sweep this under the rug or taking a stand. He choice will help pave his way to the presidency.
I found this book very interesting, but not especially engaging.
In 1931 Vivian Gordon was murdered in a park. At her home, her diary was discovered and the contents brought down Tammany Hall and helped FDR run for president.
Vivian lived a difficult life. A trumped up prostitution charge separated her from her daughter, her only source of income was at the indulgence of the men in her life. She was at one time a Madam and kept records of her dealings with the police and other important men. Her life is told in some detail, and she is treated with respect.
This book is not only about Vivian's murder and subsequent trial. It is a great summary of NYC politics starting in the 18th century. The details of Vivian's diary spur Judge Seabury to put the justice system under a microscope, trying to weed out corruption. NY Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt is must decide to sweep this under the rug or taking a stand. He choice will help pave his way to the presidency.
I found this book very interesting, but not especially engaging.
February 19, 2024
Terrific read
The research was impressive. The book reads like a murder mystery page turner but for anyone interested in New York City history and politics at the end of the jazz age this is a terrific book. I highly recommend it
The research was impressive. The book reads like a murder mystery page turner but for anyone interested in New York City history and politics at the end of the jazz age this is a terrific book. I highly recommend it
February 12, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an ARC of this book.
This book was very interesting. I loved how it portrayed the butterfly effect of a murder leading to the dismantling of years of corruption. The author really tells this like a story and that helps the reader to be able to comprehend and remember people and events. I had no idea about the history of this beforehand and I feel like I’ve learned a lot.
This book was very interesting. I loved how it portrayed the butterfly effect of a murder leading to the dismantling of years of corruption. The author really tells this like a story and that helps the reader to be able to comprehend and remember people and events. I had no idea about the history of this beforehand and I feel like I’ve learned a lot.
February 13, 2024
The ever intriguing look at how the murder investigation of Vivian Gordon brought down the corruption going on in NYC It brought to light the stranglehold the mafia had on the city and it’s inner workings from the traffic cop up through the police top brass and ultimately encircling the mayor., and judicial system. News sprerad to the governor and ultimately to the president of the United States and then entire country. I will definitely be recommending this audiobook, giving it five stars. Special thanks to the following for sending me an early unedited copy for me to listen and give my own honest opinion:
#NeyGalley,
#DreamscapeMedia
#MichaelWoraich
Narrator #Paula Gordon
#%TheBishopsndtheButterfly
Publication Date:February 6, 2024
Do yourself a favor and go out and get this book or audiobook and you will be able to add it to your family library.
#NeyGalley,
#DreamscapeMedia
#MichaelWoraich
Narrator #Paula Gordon
#%TheBishopsndtheButterfly
Publication Date:February 6, 2024
Do yourself a favor and go out and get this book or audiobook and you will be able to add it to your family library.
March 6, 2024
4.5 stars, my husband and I listened to this on a road trip. We both love history and were intrigued that a murder was also part of the story. We both enjoyed the narrator, which if you listen to books, can make or break a story. My only complaint is that with so many true life characters it gets a little difficult to follow. We would rewind and had fun piecing it all together. I would highly recommend this book, especially for a long road trip
February 26, 2024
It has it all!
I really loved this book.
It does indeed have it all! Woven into a fascinating history is sex, greed, murder, political corruption and crime in the Big Apple and with it all a page- turning story of bringing down the greatest corrupt political machine in the history of this country.
I really loved this book.
It does indeed have it all! Woven into a fascinating history is sex, greed, murder, political corruption and crime in the Big Apple and with it all a page- turning story of bringing down the greatest corrupt political machine in the history of this country.
June 23, 2024
A very interesting true story about how the murder of Vivian Gordon ,” a woman of many acquaintances” eventually brought down Tammany Hall in NYC. The murder involved FDR and a vast array of characters. I enjoyed all the twists and turns of the story.
March 4, 2024
Really really liked. Would have given 5 stars if there weren't so many names to keep straight.
February 15, 2025
It was Erik Larsen I think who popularized these deep dives into notable American history events from 100-150 years past. Wolraich carries on the tradition by examining a lurid murder in NYC, February 25, 1931.
It's a rich tapestry of characters and behaviors:
- A stylish woman who was well-known on the party circuit, Vivian Gordon "the butterfly"
- Prohibition in full-swing but basically ignored amongst the numerous (innumerable) speakeasies and clubs in NYC
- A police force riven with corruption
- A municipal administration riven with corruption and patronage (Tammany Hall working at full-bore)
- The Depression
- Scams and extortion everywhere
- Some good government folks who wanted reform (Judge Samuel Seabury - so honest and incorruptible, filled with rectitude - hence nicknamed "the Bishop")
- An ambitious NY Governor by the name of FDR
- A flamboyant NYC major - Jimmy Walker (deeply corrupt but loved by the citizens for his style)
It's a complex story with a lot of characters. Gordon's body is discovered in the woods in a Bronx park. She has a diary. She had threatened to spill the beans about a corrupt NYC cop who framed and extorted her. Mink coats, diamond rings. Gordon was known to have socialized with all sorts of wealthy (married) men. Perfect for the tabloids who ran with the story big time. Throw in a crime reporter who broke scoops day after day and you had the makings of an OJ-esque media frenzy.
Gordon's killing serves as justification for calling in Seabury to run an investigation. The vice squad comes under scrutiny; magistrate judges come under scrutiny. Corruption as far as the eye can see.
Over time, additional investigations are set in motion that go straight up into the highest levels of NYC government and their backers.
Oh, and Judge Crater (well, his disappearance) plays a cameo spot (don't know about Judge Crater? I had forgotten all about this but he was sort of a punch line or embellishment line in media of the 60s - sort of a 1930s D.B. Cooper in the disappearance mystery sub-genre).
Wolraich makes the argument that Gordon's death was the spark needed for various good government investigations to be launched that led to the demise of Tammany Hall, the bosses, the patronage, and the corruption of the NYC judicial, police, and executive functions.
Now why only three stars?
Well, we're talking about a long set of investigations going through a ton of witnesses, suspects, and peripheral characters. We don't find out about Gordon's actual killers until way late in the story. And the take down of the NYC executive branch occurs even later in the book. Now, true, this is what actually happened but the reader is not exactly swept along in excitement.
As an aside, when reading books of this nature, one can't help but make parallels to modern times. The corruption within NYC and the power of Tammany Hall echo in today's expected second Trump term, his billionaire supporters, and his sycophantic legislators/regulators. One wonders if the forces of good government 2025+ can prevail at reform as they did in 1932.
Well-illustrated, no maps. Well-written but didn't become a page-turner until 80% of the way through the book. Wolraich does a great job portraying the petty and the grand larceny/corruption/extortion of the time. One can easily imagine a movie or mini-series of this story complete with fedora hats, lots of scowling henchmen from the great melting pot of 1930s NYC, speakeasies, assignations, dames and gats. Definitely film noir material.
It's a rich tapestry of characters and behaviors:
- A stylish woman who was well-known on the party circuit, Vivian Gordon "the butterfly"
- Prohibition in full-swing but basically ignored amongst the numerous (innumerable) speakeasies and clubs in NYC
- A police force riven with corruption
- A municipal administration riven with corruption and patronage (Tammany Hall working at full-bore)
- The Depression
- Scams and extortion everywhere
- Some good government folks who wanted reform (Judge Samuel Seabury - so honest and incorruptible, filled with rectitude - hence nicknamed "the Bishop")
- An ambitious NY Governor by the name of FDR
- A flamboyant NYC major - Jimmy Walker (deeply corrupt but loved by the citizens for his style)
It's a complex story with a lot of characters. Gordon's body is discovered in the woods in a Bronx park. She has a diary. She had threatened to spill the beans about a corrupt NYC cop who framed and extorted her. Mink coats, diamond rings. Gordon was known to have socialized with all sorts of wealthy (married) men. Perfect for the tabloids who ran with the story big time. Throw in a crime reporter who broke scoops day after day and you had the makings of an OJ-esque media frenzy.
Gordon's killing serves as justification for calling in Seabury to run an investigation. The vice squad comes under scrutiny; magistrate judges come under scrutiny. Corruption as far as the eye can see.
Over time, additional investigations are set in motion that go straight up into the highest levels of NYC government and their backers.
Oh, and Judge Crater (well, his disappearance) plays a cameo spot (don't know about Judge Crater? I had forgotten all about this but he was sort of a punch line or embellishment line in media of the 60s - sort of a 1930s D.B. Cooper in the disappearance mystery sub-genre).
Wolraich makes the argument that Gordon's death was the spark needed for various good government investigations to be launched that led to the demise of Tammany Hall, the bosses, the patronage, and the corruption of the NYC judicial, police, and executive functions.
Now why only three stars?
Well, we're talking about a long set of investigations going through a ton of witnesses, suspects, and peripheral characters. We don't find out about Gordon's actual killers until way late in the story. And the take down of the NYC executive branch occurs even later in the book. Now, true, this is what actually happened but the reader is not exactly swept along in excitement.
As an aside, when reading books of this nature, one can't help but make parallels to modern times. The corruption within NYC and the power of Tammany Hall echo in today's expected second Trump term, his billionaire supporters, and his sycophantic legislators/regulators. One wonders if the forces of good government 2025+ can prevail at reform as they did in 1932.
Well-illustrated, no maps. Well-written but didn't become a page-turner until 80% of the way through the book. Wolraich does a great job portraying the petty and the grand larceny/corruption/extortion of the time. One can easily imagine a movie or mini-series of this story complete with fedora hats, lots of scowling henchmen from the great melting pot of 1930s NYC, speakeasies, assignations, dames and gats. Definitely film noir material.
March 4, 2024
I really enjoyed the story. Amazing similarities to today’s politics!
February 21, 2024
Really 3.5
Author Wolraich uses the murder of Vivian Gordon to look at many of the seedier aspects of New York City at the end of the Jazz Age.
Vivian Gordon was many things, including a wheeler-dealer, black mailer, money lender, and call girl. When her body was found in a city park, her murder became a sensation. The investigation, supported by then-Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, threw a wide net, eventually exposing police corruption and bringing down Tammany Hall and Mayor Jimmy Walker.
The narrative is easy to follow and written in an engaging style. Through the story of Gordon's murder and the ensuing investigation, we see links connecting the mob, Prohibition crime, the police, the courts, City Hall and even an international bank scheme.
Recommended for anyone interested in true crime, history, and New York City.
The print/digital edition contains 54 historical photos documenting the case and the people involved. The visuals add to the story and give us a better sense of the people involved. It also includes footnotes that define words and give more insight.
The Audiobook is narrated by Kirsten Potter who did an excellent job animating the quotes. Potter's decision to inject a little attitude into her delivery perfectly fits this account of a sensational crime with a cast of flamboyant and cocky characters. Highly recommended audiobook.
Note: because the audiobook doesn't come with a PDF of the photos, footnotes, or back-of-book material, I augmented my listening experience by following along with a digital copy.
Thanks to the publishers for review copies in various media.
Author Wolraich uses the murder of Vivian Gordon to look at many of the seedier aspects of New York City at the end of the Jazz Age.
Vivian Gordon was many things, including a wheeler-dealer, black mailer, money lender, and call girl. When her body was found in a city park, her murder became a sensation. The investigation, supported by then-Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, threw a wide net, eventually exposing police corruption and bringing down Tammany Hall and Mayor Jimmy Walker.
The narrative is easy to follow and written in an engaging style. Through the story of Gordon's murder and the ensuing investigation, we see links connecting the mob, Prohibition crime, the police, the courts, City Hall and even an international bank scheme.
Recommended for anyone interested in true crime, history, and New York City.
The print/digital edition contains 54 historical photos documenting the case and the people involved. The visuals add to the story and give us a better sense of the people involved. It also includes footnotes that define words and give more insight.
The Audiobook is narrated by Kirsten Potter who did an excellent job animating the quotes. Potter's decision to inject a little attitude into her delivery perfectly fits this account of a sensational crime with a cast of flamboyant and cocky characters. Highly recommended audiobook.
Note: because the audiobook doesn't come with a PDF of the photos, footnotes, or back-of-book material, I augmented my listening experience by following along with a digital copy.
Thanks to the publishers for review copies in various media.
February 27, 2025
The subtitle tells it all. Samuel Seabury, nicknamed The Bishop by some New York City pols, did not become an Episcopal clergyman like generations of his forebears. He became a lawyer held in high esteem by both Roosevelts who became president, but his sense of propriety exceeded theirs and most other Jazz Age contemporaries. The Butterfly, also deemed the Broadway Butterfly, was Vivian Gordon, a onetime chorine whose life was upended when her ex-husband John Bischoff set her up for a vagrancy charge so he could get full custody of their daughter. The set up seems to have been easy. Corruption in NYC was rampant in the twilight of the Jazz Age entwined with Tammany Hall dispatching charity and patronage with aplomb. Gordon couldn't afford the bribes to keep her out of the Women's Court in Greenwich Village, so she was convicted and sent off to Bedford Reformatory. A much harder woman emerged from incarceration, one who dedicated herself to playing the men's rackets that had upended her life. She made a life for herself based on extortion and loaning money to mobsters.
Michael Wolraich launches the book with scenes of her strangled body being found in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx February 25, 1931, although elements of Seabury's investigation of police and court corruption preceded it. Masterfully told, a very complex story of thorough officers of the court (crooked and clean), politicians (corrupt and incorruptible), and roiling newspaper coverage is the most engaging nonfiction I've read recently. Wish I could give it six stars.
Michael Wolraich launches the book with scenes of her strangled body being found in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx February 25, 1931, although elements of Seabury's investigation of police and court corruption preceded it. Masterfully told, a very complex story of thorough officers of the court (crooked and clean), politicians (corrupt and incorruptible), and roiling newspaper coverage is the most engaging nonfiction I've read recently. Wish I could give it six stars.
June 23, 2024
This is so very close to my platonic ideal of a nonfiction book — rigorously researched, meticulously cited and painstakingly written to enchant, arrest and educate — that I can't help but be reminded of when I fell in love with John Berendt and the years in which Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and The City of Falling Angels dominated my thoughts and "favorite book" lists.
Wolraich superbly lays out a thesis and builds his case line by line with expert precision, stuffing each sentence with specificity of detail that simultaneously turns this book of medium length into a long read that requires some sheer will to power through and—contradictingly—a vivid page turner that begs to be adapted into a 10-episode prestige tv drama. Bravo.
Wolraich superbly lays out a thesis and builds his case line by line with expert precision, stuffing each sentence with specificity of detail that simultaneously turns this book of medium length into a long read that requires some sheer will to power through and—contradictingly—a vivid page turner that begs to be adapted into a 10-episode prestige tv drama. Bravo.
June 6, 2024
This book reads (or listens) like fiction, yet is the true story of a lady's murder in 1931. This, after years of women tried and imprisoned for crimes that were either set ups or completely fabricated. Once former judge Samuel Seabury oversaw the murder investigation, conspirators began to fall.
I knew just enough history to recognize some of the names, including FDR and Jimmy J. Walker and Fiorello LaGuardia who had parts (some more than others) in the events that lead to the demise of Tammany Hall.
I knew just enough history to recognize some of the names, including FDR and Jimmy J. Walker and Fiorello LaGuardia who had parts (some more than others) in the events that lead to the demise of Tammany Hall.
July 29, 2024
Easily my favorite book that I've read this year, b/c it features the Great Depression, NYC, gangsters, a tough woman who shook things up (unfortunately after her death), and even FDR. NYC was a mess in the early 1930s, with three high-profile unsolved crimes, but while the other two (murder of Arnold Rothstein and disappearance of Judge Crater) remain high profile, this one had fallen into obscurity. Now two books about Vivian Gordon and her murder have been released this year. I plan to read the other one, but meanwhile I found author Wolraich's take fascinating, partly due to my familiarity with the people and situations in NYC at that time and partly due to the excitement of finding a new story, grim though it is. I wish the author had told us what he thinks happened and who killed Vivian, though I was able to reach my own conclusions ... perhaps that's good enough.
January 21, 2025
At times it was a glamorous true-crime thriller, but after Vivian Gordan’s trial it became a rigorously researched history book that I admittedly found snoozy.
4 stars for the first half, 1 star for the second. 5 stars for the gangster talk, speakeasy settings, and silly names (Legs Diamond, Champagne Charlies). 5 stars also for leading down great Wikipedia trails (Polly Adler, “stool pigeons”, Sing Sing, and plenty of fraud, blackmail, and bootlegging).
4 stars for the first half, 1 star for the second. 5 stars for the gangster talk, speakeasy settings, and silly names (Legs Diamond, Champagne Charlies). 5 stars also for leading down great Wikipedia trails (Polly Adler, “stool pigeons”, Sing Sing, and plenty of fraud, blackmail, and bootlegging).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 2, 2024
OK, so I have TWO reviews because that's how much I love this book.
1. NYers: Read this and you'll reimagine every street corner, every building, every interaction you see. On my street in Washington Heights, I've seen every one of these people -- in 2024! And you'll rethink our city politics in a way you never imagined.
2. Readers-at-Large: Like history? No brainer. Enjoy a sprawling whodunit? No brainer. A romance, a story of morality (and immorality)? Read it.
If this book doesn't get picked up by 2025 for a film (hello, Martin?), I'll be surprised. I'm already cast ing it in my mind.
What's next, Michael Wolraich?
1. NYers: Read this and you'll reimagine every street corner, every building, every interaction you see. On my street in Washington Heights, I've seen every one of these people -- in 2024! And you'll rethink our city politics in a way you never imagined.
2. Readers-at-Large: Like history? No brainer. Enjoy a sprawling whodunit? No brainer. A romance, a story of morality (and immorality)? Read it.
If this book doesn't get picked up by 2025 for a film (hello, Martin?), I'll be surprised. I'm already cast ing it in my mind.
What's next, Michael Wolraich?
July 3, 2025
A great historical account of the corruption in NYC government in the late 20’s and 30’s with interesting references to FDR.
April 14, 2024
I liked it. A lot of names to keep track of but the chaos of the story lends to the feeling of a city burning a candle at both ends as people try and scratch as much cash together as possible no matter who is in the way. Usually because if they don't they know that when they drown no one will notice.
Sometimes a story hits the ongoing social conscience just right. Once again a crusader is trying to take down the political machine that gives those on the inside a lifeline but at the cost of grift that allows everybody to be on the make.
Perhaps with FDRs rise and WWII Tammany Hall would have fallen anyway or maybe it took just the right number of people being outraged over a murder and a vice squad abusing their power at just the right time to give the new order the push over the finish line it needed.
This book definitely makes that case and is a fast paced ride full of people trying to come up from the bottom and keep their head above water.
Sometimes a story hits the ongoing social conscience just right. Once again a crusader is trying to take down the political machine that gives those on the inside a lifeline but at the cost of grift that allows everybody to be on the make.
Perhaps with FDRs rise and WWII Tammany Hall would have fallen anyway or maybe it took just the right number of people being outraged over a murder and a vice squad abusing their power at just the right time to give the new order the push over the finish line it needed.
This book definitely makes that case and is a fast paced ride full of people trying to come up from the bottom and keep their head above water.
April 20, 2024
For a book that sounds like a romance, this is a historical treat - Tammany Hall, Mayor Jimmy Walker, Huey Long, Franklin Roosevelt, even Judge Crater. Deliciously well-written history. Audiobook narrated by Kirsten Potter.
April 21, 2024
A great read for anyone, but especially those who like American history or politics. Thought provoking. Careful who you vote for. Tammany Hall could come back.
July 24, 2024
I just finished listening to this one on Audible. I purchased it when it was on sale, not sure if I would enjoy it, even though it is history.
Let me tell you, if you enjoy history, you may enjoy this one. I was enthralled by this story. It involves a murder of Vivian Gordon, a woman who lived a rather interesting but questionable life, and how her life was interwoven with the political players of the day. FDR was governor of New York, and Tammany Hall was controlling the majority of what happened in NYC. Corruption was rampant and attempts to clean it up were unsuccessful.
I learned so much from this book, and truly was intrigued. If you enjoy history, I highly recommend it.
Let me tell you, if you enjoy history, you may enjoy this one. I was enthralled by this story. It involves a murder of Vivian Gordon, a woman who lived a rather interesting but questionable life, and how her life was interwoven with the political players of the day. FDR was governor of New York, and Tammany Hall was controlling the majority of what happened in NYC. Corruption was rampant and attempts to clean it up were unsuccessful.
I learned so much from this book, and truly was intrigued. If you enjoy history, I highly recommend it.
April 14, 2024
Loved it. So much detail and hard work into this. Would've loved to know more about the butterfly, but I trust this author grabbed all there was.
May 6, 2024
I was interested in this book as a true crime aficionado and not as a political junkie so I was disappointed that so much of this book covered the political scandals unleashed by Vivian Gordon's death. A committee headed by Judge Samuel Seabury ultimately lead to the downfall of NYC Mayor Jimmy Walker and even could have usurped Franklin Roosevelt's presidential bid. Vivian Gordon emerges as a corrupt bottom feeder making her income through blackmail and prostitution but no one was ever convicted of or confessed to her murder. The author does what he can weeding through all the personalities and establishing some sort of timeline. The book begins with a helpful glossary of all the people surrounding Judge Seabury and Ms. Gordon. The research was well done but this just was not the book I was expecting to read. I do highly recommend it for anyone interested in NYC depression era politics.
September 20, 2024
I loved this book!! This is more than a crime solving novel. It is more like the historical account of a sensational crime which was swathed with layers of unscrupulous political dynamics and city-wide corruption. A story that came to life in the post Gatsby days of care-free living and wealth into the stoic reality of the Market crash. This economic dive left poverty, desperation and despair.
From New York to (Pre-Sinatra) Palm Springs, the setting was an intriguing back drop to those who had the power and those who wanted it. It was like an early 20th century game of survivor. Who to believe? In a world of big names, big bosses, big movie stars, big politics, big diamonds, big furs, big betrayal, big real estate deals and big debt lived even bigger deceit. These big concepts were enveloped in advantageous deals and steals camouflaged as the regaining of prosperity. However, this false sense of security was laden with fraud and fame.
How could the murder of the Broadway Butterfly cause the collapse of a century’s long domination of the Tammany way? How does Vivian Gordon gain so much power and prominence in New York as to launch investigations into the vast schemes of entrapping women with guilt of alcoholism (Prohibition) or prostitution. Add in a bit of Women’s Suffrage and you have a recipe ripe for murder.
How does a playboy Mayor and a legacy to the White House play out on this boisterous stage? What remarkable decisions should Roosevelt make as he climbs his way up from NY State leadership to that of the Presidency? As one Mayor (Walker) resigns, another big-name steps in to clean up the leftover mess. Fiorello La Guardia is more than the name of an airport. We cannot forget the Bishop. Samuel Seabury was known to be a moralist whose family legacy in truth and honor were part of American history.
Lastly, how does one’s daughter influence the urgency of resolve. What would you do to regain custody of your only daughter? Vivian Gordan found a new way to survive by seducing and blackmailing rich men, running as escort service, managing rental properties, funding heists, and surrounding herself with bootleggers and mobsters. She found herself in the middle of New York’s most violent crime scene. Did she somehow deserve or expect to be harmed based on her associations? Why keep such a detailed journal?
This is a very well written book full of facts that flow with a podcast-type of narrative. The photos, actual newspaper coverage, geographical references, judicial influences, and infamous gangsters were all people vital in the history of New York as well as this story and were fascinating. No historical fiction here. I felt as if reading this book was almost as enjoyable as watching “The Thin Man”. Who knew then what was just around the sensational corner. It would be the trial of the Century as the Vanderbilt’s fight over little Gloria.
EXCELLENT!
From New York to (Pre-Sinatra) Palm Springs, the setting was an intriguing back drop to those who had the power and those who wanted it. It was like an early 20th century game of survivor. Who to believe? In a world of big names, big bosses, big movie stars, big politics, big diamonds, big furs, big betrayal, big real estate deals and big debt lived even bigger deceit. These big concepts were enveloped in advantageous deals and steals camouflaged as the regaining of prosperity. However, this false sense of security was laden with fraud and fame.
How could the murder of the Broadway Butterfly cause the collapse of a century’s long domination of the Tammany way? How does Vivian Gordon gain so much power and prominence in New York as to launch investigations into the vast schemes of entrapping women with guilt of alcoholism (Prohibition) or prostitution. Add in a bit of Women’s Suffrage and you have a recipe ripe for murder.
How does a playboy Mayor and a legacy to the White House play out on this boisterous stage? What remarkable decisions should Roosevelt make as he climbs his way up from NY State leadership to that of the Presidency? As one Mayor (Walker) resigns, another big-name steps in to clean up the leftover mess. Fiorello La Guardia is more than the name of an airport. We cannot forget the Bishop. Samuel Seabury was known to be a moralist whose family legacy in truth and honor were part of American history.
Lastly, how does one’s daughter influence the urgency of resolve. What would you do to regain custody of your only daughter? Vivian Gordan found a new way to survive by seducing and blackmailing rich men, running as escort service, managing rental properties, funding heists, and surrounding herself with bootleggers and mobsters. She found herself in the middle of New York’s most violent crime scene. Did she somehow deserve or expect to be harmed based on her associations? Why keep such a detailed journal?
This is a very well written book full of facts that flow with a podcast-type of narrative. The photos, actual newspaper coverage, geographical references, judicial influences, and infamous gangsters were all people vital in the history of New York as well as this story and were fascinating. No historical fiction here. I felt as if reading this book was almost as enjoyable as watching “The Thin Man”. Who knew then what was just around the sensational corner. It would be the trial of the Century as the Vanderbilt’s fight over little Gloria.
EXCELLENT!
December 8, 2024
This is an impressive history of the Seabury investigations that resulted in, among other things, the resignation of popular New York mayor Jimmy Walker and a major blow to the power of Tammany Hall. I enjoyed it, and I learned a lot – and I know the material pretty well already.
What strikes me is that this isn’t presented as that. Instead, we get the frame of ‘the Bishop’ – Samuel Seabury – and ‘the Butterfly,’ aka Vivian Gordon. Gordon was found murdered soon after she was supposed to testify at the Seabury hearings – which were designed to ferret out NYC corruption – and the shock of it helped underscore how much the city needed to be cleaned up.
The Gordon story is a powerful one, and largely forgotten. I think I’ve come across it before, though never in such detail and certainly never so well and fully told.
This book works, though, because it’s actually about more than Gordon’s killing. It’s even about more than Seabury and his investigation since it gives a good context for Tammany, but it’s more accurate to declare that it really traces those hearings.
My point is, not that many people would buy a book about Seabury, so – for marketing purposes – Wolraich has had to cast it as a different kind of story. Sober ex-judges who interrogate lots of witnesses? Not sexy. Women who collect blackmail in hopes of being reunited with their estranged daughters? Very sexy.
I’m not faulting Wolraich. Instead, I’m admiring him. I’ve been in a similar situation where, while the history calls for a wide lens to take in culture and a web of characters, the market calls for something more focused. As one potential agent once asked me, “Who would DeNiro play in this story?”
In responding to those pressures, Wolraich has nevertheless told a good story. So, he gets us to buy the book on quasi-false pretenses. (There are large stretches where we hear nothing about Gordon.) He still keeps her story going. He has, in fact, a fine epilogue in which he eloquently recalls her place in a story that, by the end, has left her far behind.
So, that’s my biggest takeaway, that Wolraich squares the difficult circle of doing cultural/gangster history while also giving us a larger narrative within it.
Beyond that, he reminds us of the legacy of Tammany Hall; it was profoundly corrupt, of course, but it also represented a way for some working class elements to exert political influence. I don’t consider myself an apologist for machine politics, but I appreciate some of what they did accomplish – a brand of populism that’s very different from the kind we’ve more recently seen unleashed.
I’m tough on a lot of histories that fall into this category, and this one meets my high standards. Well done.
What strikes me is that this isn’t presented as that. Instead, we get the frame of ‘the Bishop’ – Samuel Seabury – and ‘the Butterfly,’ aka Vivian Gordon. Gordon was found murdered soon after she was supposed to testify at the Seabury hearings – which were designed to ferret out NYC corruption – and the shock of it helped underscore how much the city needed to be cleaned up.
The Gordon story is a powerful one, and largely forgotten. I think I’ve come across it before, though never in such detail and certainly never so well and fully told.
This book works, though, because it’s actually about more than Gordon’s killing. It’s even about more than Seabury and his investigation since it gives a good context for Tammany, but it’s more accurate to declare that it really traces those hearings.
My point is, not that many people would buy a book about Seabury, so – for marketing purposes – Wolraich has had to cast it as a different kind of story. Sober ex-judges who interrogate lots of witnesses? Not sexy. Women who collect blackmail in hopes of being reunited with their estranged daughters? Very sexy.
I’m not faulting Wolraich. Instead, I’m admiring him. I’ve been in a similar situation where, while the history calls for a wide lens to take in culture and a web of characters, the market calls for something more focused. As one potential agent once asked me, “Who would DeNiro play in this story?”
In responding to those pressures, Wolraich has nevertheless told a good story. So, he gets us to buy the book on quasi-false pretenses. (There are large stretches where we hear nothing about Gordon.) He still keeps her story going. He has, in fact, a fine epilogue in which he eloquently recalls her place in a story that, by the end, has left her far behind.
So, that’s my biggest takeaway, that Wolraich squares the difficult circle of doing cultural/gangster history while also giving us a larger narrative within it.
Beyond that, he reminds us of the legacy of Tammany Hall; it was profoundly corrupt, of course, but it also represented a way for some working class elements to exert political influence. I don’t consider myself an apologist for machine politics, but I appreciate some of what they did accomplish – a brand of populism that’s very different from the kind we’ve more recently seen unleashed.
I’m tough on a lot of histories that fall into this category, and this one meets my high standards. Well done.
April 30, 2024
Although this is a murder mystery with plenty of details about the victim and its perpetrators as well as those who most likely planned the crime, it's so much more than that. Readers will be curious as to who killed Vivian Gordon and left her body in a Bronx park in 1931, but they'll also want to know why she died and more about her. She seems to have associated with some rather untrustworthy types and been guilty herself of more than a few scams, but life for a woman alone in a large city such as New York wasn't easy back then, and the fact that she gave her heart to someone who betrayed her is not surprising. But Vivian also kept diaries and accounts of the money she loaned to others, evidence that would lead to the downfall of several influential politicians and Tammany Hall, the organization that seemed to rule New York City. The fact that she was poised to give evidence to an anti-corruption investigation into police corruption in the city added to the newsworthiness of her death. With engaging prose, details that take readers back in time to Prohibition, and descriptions of various political heavyweights, including FDR, governor and future President, Jimmy Walker, mayor of the city, and Samuel Seabury, who presided over the investigation into corruption by the city's elected officials, the author provides so many details about the city and the legal cases that readers will find it hard to believe they are living through 2024 when they emerge from the book. This is a true tale of power, betrayal, lost innocence, evil, and the impact one woman had on those with more power and influence than she ever dreamed of having. As the author writes in the Epilogue, "her spirit is woven into the history of her adopted city, one small forgotten thread in the glorious tapestry of New York City" (p. 303). Pieces of history such as hers should not be left in the margins, and this well-written and thoughtful book brings a measure of justice to her family and memory.
March 10, 2024
This entire book is immensely detailed and with research far beyond the 3 star range.
But it also holds way too many tangent associations and cabal ploys explained and explained to hold concrete embedding to a true insight for my read of the entire as a whole. Perhaps I don't care so much about how criminals, crooks, and frauds; how they live their lives or have lived them. Perhaps I have seen too many myself. Who never reap the consequences they deserve at any point in their lives.
At least in this case a few intrepid folk turned it around for NYC. For a while? Not very long though, is my thinking.
The Butterfly herself wasn't as interesting as an individual than I thought she would be.
The Jazz Age ending that came so swiftly was the best point of clarity in this book. Clearly shown why. It doesn't happen now in the 21st century at all in this manner. Entire middle class or working group points of economy collapse (store owners, restaurants etc.) in vast numbers and the top elites of coastal views still seem to play on and on without a pause. Massive industries leave the continent and not a whimper recorded? Within the same dance moves as the crooks did then, as well. Politico liars, fraud, extortion, control of drugs/liquor (only the main categories change), and cheating in 100 other guises to access, government graft, and associations of profits among the known "special".
But it also holds way too many tangent associations and cabal ploys explained and explained to hold concrete embedding to a true insight for my read of the entire as a whole. Perhaps I don't care so much about how criminals, crooks, and frauds; how they live their lives or have lived them. Perhaps I have seen too many myself. Who never reap the consequences they deserve at any point in their lives.
At least in this case a few intrepid folk turned it around for NYC. For a while? Not very long though, is my thinking.
The Butterfly herself wasn't as interesting as an individual than I thought she would be.
The Jazz Age ending that came so swiftly was the best point of clarity in this book. Clearly shown why. It doesn't happen now in the 21st century at all in this manner. Entire middle class or working group points of economy collapse (store owners, restaurants etc.) in vast numbers and the top elites of coastal views still seem to play on and on without a pause. Massive industries leave the continent and not a whimper recorded? Within the same dance moves as the crooks did then, as well. Politico liars, fraud, extortion, control of drugs/liquor (only the main categories change), and cheating in 100 other guises to access, government graft, and associations of profits among the known "special".
June 3, 2024
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway. Thank you! But, see the note above. I apologize for the delayed review. [The nerve of some people!]
An excellent book about the role of the murder of Vivian Gordon had in the fall of Tammany Hall during the 1920s and 30s. While Ms. Gordon's life and death were more than sad, the consequences of her murder were beneficial to New York City, New York State, and the nation.
The author has written a very interesting and readable book showing how corruption ruined the life a woman who then sought revenge. While trying to accomplish that, she was found murdered. The subsequent investigation brought the control of Tammany under scrutiny. The rest is history.
My grandmother and father lived in Hell's Kitchen during this time period and I remember hearing about Mayor Walker being seen visiting a woman who lived in their building. She was apparently the side piece to his side piece. Remembering their stories made this book even more entertaining and informative than it may have been to someone else.
Really great book. Highly recommend especially to someone interested in New York history.
An excellent book about the role of the murder of Vivian Gordon had in the fall of Tammany Hall during the 1920s and 30s. While Ms. Gordon's life and death were more than sad, the consequences of her murder were beneficial to New York City, New York State, and the nation.
The author has written a very interesting and readable book showing how corruption ruined the life a woman who then sought revenge. While trying to accomplish that, she was found murdered. The subsequent investigation brought the control of Tammany under scrutiny. The rest is history.
My grandmother and father lived in Hell's Kitchen during this time period and I remember hearing about Mayor Walker being seen visiting a woman who lived in their building. She was apparently the side piece to his side piece. Remembering their stories made this book even more entertaining and informative than it may have been to someone else.
Really great book. Highly recommend especially to someone interested in New York history.
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