A review by oceanwriter
The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum: The Rise and Fall of an American Organized-Crime Boss by Margalit Fox

adventurous informative medium-paced

3.5

I’m always curious to learn about different people, places, and periods in history that I have little to no knowledge of. In the case of The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum, I went in with absolutely no foreknowledge. In general, I’m not super well-versed in the era of the 1800s. 

 

The book discusses the rags-to-riches life story of Frederika Mandelbaum. Starting out as a peddler, she ended up with ties to the underworld and ultimately became an entrepreneur. With 19th Century New York as a backdrop, the book offers not only a biography of Mrs. Mandelbaum, but also a look at the climate of the times. The book is rich with photographs which add to the atmosphere. 

 

While I found the topic interesting and I was taken with the setting, I didn’t latch onto Fredericka. The book had a tendency to stray, so maybe that was a contributing factor for me even though I did find the side players interesting as well. The topics of the book were another reason I struggled to connect on a personal level. 

 

Overall, the research is solid and is presented well. A good read for history lovers! 

 

A huge thanks to Random House and NetGalley for inviting me to read a digital ARC of the book!