Aunt Eleanor’s Men: A True Story of One Woman's Pursuit of Grandeur

by V.E. Palm, Cynthia Teal

Eleanor knew the world. She knew geography. Ocean liners and trains, timetables, maps, depots, piers, cities, towns, hotels, and shops were her stepping-stones—the rigging for her life on the lam. She was an agile and erudite traveler, and her movable scam propelled her across two continents. She claimed fluency in French, Russian, Italian, and German. Her easy way with language, her cunning, her knowledge, her confidence, and her poise made her a formidable artist of the con. She had a wardrobe of Millicent Lois Wilson, Grace Potter, and Mrs. Heath Wilson Roberts, to name just a few. Her marriages lifted her to the heights of luxury, but her taste for crime dropped her to the depths of despair.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, True Crime

329 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 25, 2017

About the author

V. E. Palm, known as Victor or Vic, learned as a child that he had a mysterious great aunt. Many years later, he returned to his hometown on the great plains of Montana and asked his aging mother, whatever became of Aunt Eleanor about whom we children were kept in the dark? A large manila envelope filled with news clippings and kept in a drawer appeared. Aunt Eleanor's Men is the story revealed from the many clippings and letters secreted away in that envelope. It is the story of an ambitious attractive woman who at a young age sought grandeur in the lights of Broadway and favor in the eyes of wealthy prominent men. She became known as "The Queen of the Gold diggers." In her later years, Aunt Eleanor dodged the law across America and Europe as an accomplished con artist and grifter. Her adventurous life ended at age 67 in Washington State Prison. Victor began writing after many years as a public school teacher in New Jersey. He lives with his wife Joyce in Easton, Pennsylvania. Aunt Eleanor's Men is his first book. He is now writing his perspective on the Trail of the Nez Perce.

Aunt Eleanor's adopted daughter, Cynthia Teal wrote an account of her life with her foster mother. It was syndicated in American newspaper in 1922. Her story is presented as an addendum to Aunt Eleanor's Men. She disappeared mysteriously in 1926.

Reviews

[Jessica Lauryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun read! I recently met the author V.E. Palm at a Book Festival and was intrigued by "Aunt Eleanor" from the get-go. The things this woman is able to accomplish as a grifter are amazing. A writer myself, I am highly fascinated by both ficticious and real-life characters who do things most of us would never dare to do. Margaret Teal fits the bill! Not my usual read, and I enjoyed every minute!

[Joyce Palm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am an avid reader. Over the past few years, I have looked over the shoulder of my husband as he researched and wrote Aunt Eleanor's Men. From time to time, I read and commented on the work. When I finished reading the final manuscript and then the published book, I was again, and again, captivated by the writing and the incredible story. I'm sure you will be, as well.

[Sara Napierkowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

My grandfather spent years researching the almost incomprehensible life of his great aunt, a swindler and con-woman for the ages. And it’s more than worthy of a read. Especially with the context for Eleanor’s adopted daughter, destined for destruction because of her controlling guardian. I’ll read it again one day, that’s for sure!

[Suzi Strauch]

V.E. Palm's Aunt Eleanor was my Grandmother Genevieve! I am thrilled that the book I dreamt of writing has been written (and through it some long lost relatives discovered.) There were few errors in the author's telling of Genevieve's story, the most glaring, to me, of course, was the statement that Jack Paddleford (born Ben Teal, Jr.) had no children ... I am the third of his four children by Mary Martindale Paddleford! Aside from this bothersome detail, the book is quite factual and I appreciate the massive amount of research Mr. Palm did to put the tale together ... I actually learned some things about my grandmother's adventures that I hadn't known before. Even if there were no familial ties to the title character, this is a book I would seek out and love reading! Eleanor/Genevieve was a woman who played the game with the hand dealt her and while I'm not exactly proud of her, I am fascinated and in awe of her brilliance and chutzpah!
Suzi Paddleford Strauch

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Astounding story of a talented grifter

Well researched, interestingly written. What a story about the author's true life relative well told and documented. An amusing skeleton to have in the family closet. She was clever, duplicitous to the max and lived a very high life much of the time at the expense of husbands, hotels, acquaintances and shopkeepers n the U.S. and Europe. My my, the things she got up to and the lies she told. A glorious tale about a woman I can almost respect for her selfish deviousness! She spent a lot of time in jail too, rightfully so.

[Gary Leon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating!

Fascinating book! Beautifully written! Mrs. McKinney, Toomey, Teal, Paddleford was evil to the ultimate extreme! To speak of an entitled 'Karen' is to fall way short of accuracy! My only disappointment is the mystery of not knowing what happened to Cynthia and Ben Teal Jr. Also, I couldn't get the book to a print size that wasn't tiny.