On the ninth of September, 1884, in Troy, New York, Victoria Pertinax Morosini, the 25-year-old daughter of one of New York City’s richest immigrant financiers, eloped with her father’s coachman, Ernest Schilling. Her father, Giovanni Morosini, a business partner of Jay Gould who had risen from an immigrant factory boy to immense wealth, reacted with … Read more
In September 2006, Prince Louis of Luxembourg signed two documents on the same day. The first made him a husband. The second permanently removed his children from the royal line of succession. One of those children was six months old. The other had not yet been born. The renunciation was the price the palace set … Read more
L’invitation arriva un mardi, sur un carton crème rehaussé d’un doré à la feuille qui devait coûter plus cher que les courses hebdomadaires de la plupart des gens. Je la tins à la lumière qui filtrait par la fenêtre de la cuisine de notre maison de Beacon Hill, à Boston, et je lus la calligraphie … Read more
L’église était plongée dans un silence de mort. Deux personnes retenaient leur souffle. Linda Walker, ma mère, se leva brusquement de son banc, le doigt tendu droit vers mon visage, devant toute la congrégation. « Pasteur, ne gaspillez pas vos prières pour elle. Elle n’en est pas digne. Elle n’est rien. » Un silence lourd … Read more
On April 13, 1986, Frank DeCicco walked toward his Buick Electra parked outside the Veterans and Friends Social Club in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. It was 8:00 a. m. He had just grabbed a coffee. At 50 years old, wearing a custom-tailored suit, he was the newly named underboss of the most powerful crime family in America. … Read more
Alle luci dell’appartamento di Silas Redmond erano spente da ore quando il telefono squarciò il silenzio. Erano le due del mattino. Lui era addormentato sul divano, ancora vestito con gli abiti da lavoro, gli stivali con la punta d’acciaio ai piedi. Aveva appena chiuso un turno di quattordici ore in una sottostazione elettrica oltre il … Read more
Ik werd twee keer door een andere deur naar buiten gegooid voordat ik dertig was. De eerste keer was tijdens mijn huwelijk met Donald Stern, een zakenman. Toen het tijd was voor mijn zwangerschapscontrole, ontdekte ik dat hij de liefde bedreef met een studente, pal voor het raam op de honderdste verdieping. Hij noemde me … Read more
A cavalry sergeant who survived the Battle of the Little Bighorn left behind a detailed account that contradicts key elements of the legendary story of George Armstrong Custer’s final stand. Sergeant Daniel Kanipe carried what he described as the last orders from the doomed commander, and his firsthand testimony offers a version of events that … Read more
Mi chiamo Daniel e la vita mi è cambiata davanti a un piatto di ravioli cinesi. Mia moglie Lin non aveva mai parlato volentieri della sua famiglia, e quando finalmente mi invitò a cena dai suoi genitori ero nervoso, ma felice. Nessuno sapeva che avevo studiato il mandarino in segreto per due anni. Volevo farle … Read more
Nine men shot Bumpy Johnson’s enforcer in broad daylight on a Tuesday afternoon in Harlem. Within 48 hours, they were leaving Manhattan for good. Not a single shot was fired in retaliation. Willie “Steady” Grant, one of Johnson’s most trusted men, was stepping out of Monroe’s barber shop on 145th Street when the attack came. … Read more