The Witch of Wall Street

by Marie Benedict

From New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict comes the story of the richest woman of the Gilded Age, the brilliant and controversial Hetty Green.

The Gilded Age, New York City. Hetty Robinson is not your average young woman. Born into a successful whaling family, her father, Black Hawk Robinson, imbued her with a keen business sense and a drive to succeed from childhood. When it comes time for her to enter society and find a suitable husband, she shocks the social world by rejecting her suitors and deciding to work with her father instead. With Hetty’s brilliance and unique investment strategy, their wealth grows.

Hetty’s heart is eventually captured by the handsome and rich Edward Green, whose ambition matches her own. But after she is betrayed by her husband and her family, causing her to lose almost everything she’s worked for, she comes to believe that happiness will only come from financial success. She strengthens her resolve to make her own fortune and pioneers value investing, beating the giants of Wall Street at their own game, including robber barons like Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Huntington Hartford. Her bitter competitors vilify her as a heartless shrew, pushing the newspapers to dub her “The Witch of Wall Street,” a ruthless woman who will stop at nothing in search of the next dollar.

But while Hetty is determined to win, she is also honest and fair and compassionate, even secretly bailing out New York City more than once. In The Witch of Wall Street, Marie Benedict presents an achingly human portrait of the misunderstood Hetty Green, the richest woman of the Gilded Age—self-made, at that—and a genius.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication March 2, 2027

About the author

Marie Benedict is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Daughter of Egypt, The Queens of Crime, The Mitford Affair, Her Hidden Genius, The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, The Only Woman in the Room, Lady Clementine, Carnegie's Maid, The Other Einstein, and the novella, Agent 355. With Victoria Christopher Murray, she co-wrote the Good Morning America Book Club pick The Personal Librarian, the Target Book of the Year The First Ladies., and the Reese's Book Club Pick A Pair of Aces. With Courtney Sheinmel, she co-wrote the first in a middle grade historical adventure series, called The Secrets of the Lovelace Academy.

Her books have been translated into thirty languages, and selected for the Barnes & Noble Book Club, Target Book Club, Costco Book Club, Indie Next List, and LibraryReads List.

Up next is her March 2, 2027 release, THE WITCH OF WALL STREET, about the richest woman of the Gilded Age, a self-made one with holdings that rivaled those of men like J.P. Morgan -- the brilliant and controversial Hetty Green whose legacy was erased by her fellow tycoons.

Reviews

[Laura]

Marie Benedict's best! Hetty Green -- what a fascinating woman, a foil to the Gilded Age, Warren Buffet before Warren Buffet! Plus fascinating stuff on New England whaling, Quakers, NYC, leadership, resilience, and more. Oh, and money.

[Susan Keller]

An account of a most amazing woman i I had never heard of before, why hasn't she been taught in history! She was resourceful and smart as a whip in a time when women were looked upon as accessories and helpmate to their husbands

[Bossmanaries Smith]

📚 The Witch of Wall Street — Marie Benedict

4.5 Stars

Behind “The Witch” was a woman who knew exactly how to make money—and how to move through a world determined to underestimate her.

Marie Benedict’s portrait of Hetty Robinson Green reveals a woman far more complex than the fortune that made her famous. Ambitious, financially savvy, resilient, and constantly judged, Hetty had to navigate a world shaped by misogyny, suppression, and expectations designed to keep women in their place.

The label “The Witch of Wall Street” painted her in a negative light, but there was much more to Hetty’s story than her reputation. This is a story about wealth and financial success, but also about strategy, survival, ambition, and what it meant for a woman to wield financial power during the Gilded Age.

Now, I’ll be honest—the book was a slow burn for me. But around 40% in, something shifted. My interest peaked, and Hetty finally came alive on the page. I became fascinated watching her maneuver through a world determined to underestimate her while she continued making bold financial moves—and, at times, seemingly making miracles happen with her money.

Once the story clicked for me, I became much more invested in Hetty’s journey. Benedict gradually pulled me beyond the money and into the woman behind the fortune, which made her story much more compelling.

I’m definitely looking forward to experiencing the audiobook.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC.

Review Date: 9/29/2026
Publication Date: 3/2/2027

#TheWitchofWallStreet #NetGalley #HistoricalFiction #MarieBenedict #GildedAge

[Pía]

First, thank you, NetGalley and St Martin’s, for letting me get an e-ARC of this book in exchange for a honest review.

6/5 — stars

Oooooh, once I picked up this book, I wasn’t able to stop reading it until the end. I knew I was going to like it. I have a love for anything Regency or Gilded Age related, but this book was a masterpiece.

First, the writing. I don’t know what Marie Benedict puts in this book, but it was like a drug. It flowed so perfectly. I didn’t feel like it was clunky at all. It flowed with an ease that I only find in a few authors, and I don’t read those authors as much nowadays. In the blink of an eye, I spent most of my afternoon reading this book, and I didn’t even notice.

Now, let’s talk about the story. It follows Hetty Robinson, who was a real person, and I don’t know how I had never heard about her before. More women like this should be taught in history classes. She was one of the richest women in the Gilded Age. She was self made and was known most of the time as the Witch of Wall Street, though from time to time she was called the Queen.

A woman succeeding in a male dominated field (at that time, though nowadays women are killing it everywhere) could only be one thing or the other, but most of the time, she was the first. She was such a strong and intelligent woman. Marie took some creative liberties, as she explains in her note, and this is her version of Hetty, but it was still incredible.

I recommend this book to everyone who likes anything Gilded Age related, historical female figures, or a quick read that flies by.

[MK]

*review of an advance readers copy provided by the publisher*

such an interesting book about the wealthiest woman in America during the Gilded Age - i am really surprised there is not more written on her.

the author did take some historical liberties, some of which i understood for the brevity they wished for the book to have, and some of them i did not. the author explains those changes at the end, but i think that it is possible to rewrite the connotation that historical accounts have of her without changing the facts too much.

i only mention this, because i had never heard of Hetty Green before and instantly wanted to read as much as i could about her, and was puzzled by the random differences.

Other than that, the Witch on Wall Street was an incredibly educational and fun read.