Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
Release Date: December 5, 2023
Publisher: Berkley
Source: Publisher
Genre: Mystery / Historical
Elizabeth Bates's latest con just might change the course of history in an all-new Counterfeit Lady Novel from USA Today bestselling author Victoria Thompson.
A
year has passed since Elizabeth Bates ran her last con. Life has been
simpler, although not nearly as exciting, but she has thrown herself
into working to get the 19th Amendment ratified by thirty-six states to
become the law of the land. Since every other Southern state
has already rejected the amendment, it seems unlikely Tennessee will be
an exception . . . but it's their only hope, so the suffragists
descend on Tennessee for the final battle.
Elizabeth’s ability to
interact with difficult men and to persuasively explain all the
advantages of allowing women to vote—all skills she perfected as a
grifter—have made her a valuable member of the team. But she would never
have expected the lengths to which some would go to keep the vote out
of women's hands. She'll need to devise the perfect con or the
suffragists' life's work could all be for nothing.
City of Betrayal, by Victoria Thompson, is the 7th installment in the authors Counterfeit Lady series. A
year has passed since Elizabeth Miles Bates ran her last con. Life has been
simpler, although not nearly as exciting, but she has thrown herself
into working to get the 19th Amendment ratified by thirty-six states to
become the law of the land. 35 States have ratified, 8 have rejected it including every Southern state.
It seems unlikely Tennessee will be
an exception but it's their only hope, so the suffragists
descend on Tennessee for the final battle. Elizabeth’s ability to
interact with difficult men and to persuasively explain all the
advantages of allowing women to vote—all skills she perfected as a
grifter—have made her a valuable member of the team. But she would never
have expected the lengths to which some would go to keep the vote out
of women's hands. She'll need to devise the perfect con or the
suffragists' life's work could all be for nothing.
an exception but it's their only hope, so the suffragists
descend on Tennessee for the final battle. Elizabeth’s ability to
interact with difficult men and to persuasively explain all the
advantages of allowing women to vote—all skills she perfected as a
grifter—have made her a valuable member of the team. But she would never
have expected the lengths to which some would go to keep the vote out
of women's hands. She'll need to devise the perfect con or the
suffragists' life's work could all be for nothing.
Elizabeth isn't alone. She has her husband Gideon Bates, her best friend Anna Vanderslice, who lost her brother to the pandemic 2 years ago, and Gideon's mother who spent some time in prison alongside Elizabeth working for the women's suffragist movement. Prohibition was recently put into place but that doesn't stop people who want to drink, and bribe others with drink. The two
factions of the suffragist movement, separated by their approach to
securing women's right to vote and the anti-suffragists are there in
large numbers.
factions of the suffragist movement, separated by their approach to
securing women's right to vote and the anti-suffragists are there in
large numbers.
The women are individually buttonholing one legislator
after another, gaining and losing their pledges to take their sides,
sometimes through drink and bribery. Whether or not anything in this book actually happened, the point is that ratifying a Constitutional amendment is not easy, especially when women who should want equal rights, fight hard against change. Regardless of your feelings, the 19th Amendment doesn't pass without the Republican party. This was not the most entertaining story, but historically important.
after another, gaining and losing their pledges to take their sides,
sometimes through drink and bribery. Whether or not anything in this book actually happened, the point is that ratifying a Constitutional amendment is not easy, especially when women who should want equal rights, fight hard against change. Regardless of your feelings, the 19th Amendment doesn't pass without the Republican party. This was not the most entertaining story, but historically important.
*Thoughts* In all, over 200 Republicans voted in favor of the 19th Amendment, while only 102 Democrats voted alongside them. Regardless of the authors personal crusade, historians write that Woodrow Wilson, Democrat President, was very much against the 19th Amendment. He also believed that suffrage was the root of all evil. Wilson considered himself a moral president, and yet he did not believe that women should vote. He called himself a moral president, and yet he segregated the civil service in one of his first acts as President.
If you take one thing from this review, take this. Suffragists and anti-suffragists lobbied furiously to secure votes during that intense summer in Nashville. The ratification resolution passed easily in the Tennessee State Senate on August 13, but the House of Representatives was deadlocked thanks to the Speaker of the House who flipped to anti. When young Harry T. Burn of Niota changed his vote to support ratification of the 19th Amendment thanks to a letter from his mother, he broke a tie in the House of Representatives and made history.
Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947) was president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). She came to Nashville during the summer of 1920 to support the efforts of Tennessee suffragists. Her leadership was a key factor in Tennessee becoming the "Perfect 36," the state that put the 19th Amendment over the top. There are hundreds of others who should be remember who works behind the scenes and should never be forgotten.
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CHAPTER one
I knew it would be difficult, but I never dreamed it
would be impossible," Elizabeth Miles Bates said, staring at the letter
she'd been reading.
Her mother-in-law looked up from her knitting. "Are you talking about passing the amendment, dear?"
"Yes, I am. I'll never understand those people who are so dead set against allowing women to vote."
"What does Miss Paul's letter say? And I'm sure she doesn't say it's impossible."
Alice Paul was the leader of the National Woman's Party, the more
radical of the two organizations that had been working for Woman
Suffrage. Their demonstrations outside the White House had gotten many
of their volunteers jailed. Elizabeth and her mother-in-law were among
them.
"You're right, she doesn't say it's impossible," Elizabeth
admitted, "but it is going to be nearly impossible. I thought that
since thirty-five states have already approved the amendment, we could
easily get the one more state that we need to make it the law of the
land, but Miss Paul makes it clear that there is only one state left
that might actually approve the amendment, and that state is Tennessee."
Mother Bates frowned. They both knew that almost every other Southern
state had already rejected the amendment, and Tennessee was likely to
join them. "Why is she so sure it comes down to Tennessee?"
"Since eight states have already rejected it, that leaves just five
states that could approve it. We know North Carolina and Florida will
never approve it, and the governors of Vermont and Connecticut have
refused to call a special session of their legislatures even to vote on
it. That means Tennessee is the only possible state left."
"If only we hadn't lost in Delaware," Mother Bates said sadly.
"That was such a disappointment. We were so sure . . ."
"Then we must be sure we will win in Tennessee. Is that what Miss Paul advises?"
Elizabeth looked down at the letter she still held. "Not exactly, but
she is calling on all her volunteers to help in whatever way they can."
Mother Bates stopped her knitting needles and stared at Elizabeth. "Did she ask you to go to Tennessee?"
"Yes, she did," Elizabeth said with a sigh.
"That's a great honor. She knows how effective you've been in convincing legislators to vote for the amendment."
Elizabeth and Mother Bates had traveled to several other states to help
lobby for the amendment. "Not in the South, though," Elizabeth reminded
her.
"Then Tennessee will be the exception."
Elizabeth
looked at the letter again. Miss Paul was quite eloquent in her praise
of Elizabeth's ability to convince reluctant officials to support Woman
Suffrage. If only she knew that Elizabeth's skills came from being
raised by a con man to become a con artist herself. She could lie
without blinking and charm even the most unappealing gentleman. When she
had married Gideon Bates, she had thought her days of conning marks was
over, but she had found her skills could come in handy in getting
justice for people who could never get it any other way. She had used
those skills several times to help her friends.
It had been
almost a year since she'd run a con, though, unless she counted lobbying
politicians for Woman Suffrage, which she probably should.
"I don't know what Gideon will say," Elizabeth murmured.
"What I'll say about what?" Gideon asked as he came into the parlor.
"Darling, I didn't hear you come home," Elizabeth said, jumping up to
give him his welcome-home kiss. Mother Bates tactfully averted her eyes.
"How was your day?"
"Boring as usual." Gideon was an estate
attorney, so he rarely did anything exciting. "And don't change the
subject. What is it you think I'll have something to say about and is
that a letter you're holding?"
"It's from Alice Paul," his mother said helpfully.
Elizabeth sent her an exasperated look, which she ignored.
"Ah, I see. Where does Miss Paul want to send you now?" he asked,
taking a seat on the sofa and pulling Elizabeth down beside him.
"Tennessee," Elizabeth said.
"In the summer? It gets awfully hot down there in the summer."
"It gets awfully hot in New York in the summer," Elizabeth countered.
Gideon shrugged. "I'm just warning you. Why does she need you in Tennessee?"
"Because it's our only hope." Elizabeth and Mother Bates took turns explaining the situation and how dire it now appeared.
"Does Miss Paul really believe Tennessee will approve the amendment?" he asked when they finished.
"We don't know, but I think we can all agree that they must," his mother said.
"I hope they know that," Gideon said with a grin.
"They will when we tell them," his mother said.
"We?" Gideon echoed.
"You can't think I'd let Elizabeth go to Tennessee by herself when I could help, too."
Elizabeth gave her a grateful smile.
Gideon frowned. "You need to know what you're getting into."
"We've done this before," Elizabeth reminded him.
"Yes, but not when it was down to the wire like this. Some of the other
fights have been hard, but the Antis will bring out all their dirty
tricks for this one," Gideon said, using the nickname for those who were
anti-Woman Suffrage. "Politics can be an ugly business, and when so
much is at stake, it gets even uglier."
His mother smiled a little. "Surely, you don't think those Southern gentlemen will do anything unpleasant."
"Oh no," Gideon said. "They'll be smiling very sweetly as they stab you in the back."
"But we have to go," Elizabeth said. "After all we've done for the
Cause, we can't sit by now and just watch. What if we lose in Tennessee?
I'd never forgive myself for not doing my part."
"I'm not saying you shouldn't go," Gideon said.
"And I'm very happy to see that you also aren't telling her she can't go," Mother Bates said with some satisfaction.
"I wouldn't dare," Gideon replied with a smirk.
Elizabeth knew her father had warned him that forbidding her to do
something only guaranteed that she would do it. "Then we'll go."
"And I'm going with you, too," Gideon said.
"Do you think we need your protection?" Elizabeth said in surprise.
"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, but I'm sure the Suffs can use
some male help. Those legislators can be difficult to track down, and
they go places that ladies can't go. As a member of the Men's
Ratification Committee, I feel it's my duty to volunteer."
"What about your law firm?" Elizabeth said. "We don't even know how long it will take."
"Mr. Devoss will insist that I go when I tell him I'm needed to protect my mother."
"Gideon," Mother Bates scolded, but Elizabeth noticed her cheeks were pink. Mr. Devoss was very devoted to her mother-in-law.
"Do we know Mr. Devoss's stand on Woman Suffrage?" Elizabeth asked.
"I believe Mother convinced him to support it," Gideon said.
His mother glared at him, but he ignored her.
"Then he will certainly let you go to Tennessee," Elizabeth said. "It
shouldn't take very long, should it? Surely only a few days. It will be a
special session of the legislature and they'll only be considering the
amendment."
"Do we know when it will be held?" Gideon asked.
"Not yet. Miss Paul isn't even certain the governor will call it. He's
afraid if he shows he supports Woman Suffrage, he won't win his primary
on . . ." Elizabeth glanced at Miss Paul's letter to verify the date. ".
. . on August fifth, so it will be after that."
"Tennessee in August," Mother Bates said with a mock shudder.
"Another reason the legislators won't want to linger," Gideon said.
"But won't they need people there ahead of time to get the legislators
to pledge their votes?"
"According to Miss Paul, the Tennessee
chapter of the Woman's Party is sending their members out across the
state to find the men at their homes and get their pledges."
"So they'll know how many votes they have even before the session starts," Mother Bates added.
"What if they don't have enough?" Gideon asked.
"Then they'll start trying to convince those who wouldn't pledge or who
seemed undecided to vote to approve," Mother Bates said.
"And keep those who did pledge to vote for it from changing their minds," Elizabeth said.
"No easy task, I'm sure," Gideon said. "Don't forget that very powerful
forces are determined to stop the amendment from becoming law."
"How could we forget?" Elizabeth said. "The railroads and the whiskey
men and the textile manufacturers. They're all afraid that if women get
the vote, they'll want to end things like corruption and child labor."
"The whiskey men can't still be worried that women would insist on Prohibition since we already have it," Gideon argued.
Elizabeth smiled wisely. "It seems they're worried women will insist that the laws are enforced."
"Ah, I see," Gideon said. "But Tennessee was already dry for years before Prohibition."
"I hope you aren't too surprised to learn that law wasn't really enforced, either," his mother said.
"I can see I should have gone with you on these trips sooner," Gideon said. "I'm hopelessly naïve."
"Not hopelessly," Elizabeth said, patting his arm. "We'll make sure
you're properly educated by the time we go to Tennessee. We have a few
weeks, if the governor isn't going to call the session until after his
primary."
"Maybe he'll schedule it for later in the year, when it will be cooler," Mother Bates said hopefully.
"Oh no, we want it as soon as possible so women have time to register
to vote in the November elections," Elizabeth said. "Just think, they'll
get to vote for a new president this year."
"But only if we can convince enough of those Tennessee gentlemen to support the amendment," Mother Bates said.
"I have every confidence that the two of you will succeed and all the
women in America will be able to vote in the November election," Gideon
said.
Elizabeth decided she needed to kiss her husband again, and this time Mother Bates didn't even look away.
Is there something good in the gossip column today?” Anna Vanderslice
asked as she breezed into the Bateses’ library to find Elizabeth
studying the newspaper.
Elizabeth looked up and smiled at her
friend. "I'm sure there is, but I haven't gotten to the gossip column
yet. I'm looking for some news about Tennessee."
Anna plopped
down on the chair opposite Elizabeth's. "You don't think a New York
newspaper will have news about Tennessee, do you?"
"Not usually,
but the Tennessee primary election was two days ago, and the governor
won his contest, so I'm hoping he'll call the legislature into special
session pretty soon."
"That's right. I almost forgot. Are you
still planning to go?" Anna asked, pulling off the gloves ladies were
required to wear even in summer to protect their hands. Then she started
fanning herself with them. "I asked your maid to get us something cool
to drink. I hope you don't mind."
"Not at all. It's very warm today, although Gideon keeps warning me it will be much hotter in Nashville."
"You'll be too busy to even notice," Anna predicted. "I should go with you."
"I would love that," Elizabeth said, "but who would look after your mother?"
Anna sighed. "I know. I can't leave her. She's lost interest in just
about everything. She won't even see her friends when they call. It's
gotten even worse since my classes ended and I'm home all the time now.
She is content to let me wait on her hand and foot. I don't know what
I'll do with her when I go back to school in the fall." Anna was
attending college, studying to be a teacher.
"Does she still . . . ?" Elizabeth started but caught herself.
"Does she still talk about David all the time?" Anna finished for her. "Oh yes. Sometimes I can hardly bear it."
David was Anna's brother who had died in the flu epidemic almost two
years earlier. He had also been Gideon's best friend. "I'm so sorry,"
Elizabeth said.
"Yes, well, let's not dwell on that," Anna said with forced cheerfulness. "Did you find out anything about Tennessee?"
"Not a word, not even in the front section."
"Why would it be in the front section with the real news?" Anna asked
with mock amazement. She was as involved in the Cause as Elizabeth was,
having been imprisoned with her and Mother Bates as well. "Everyone
knows that news about Woman Suffrage belongs in the women's pages."
"I thought maybe because it involved the governor and politics, they might put it in the front, but no, nothing."
"I'm sure Miss Paul will let you know as soon as she hears. And you can go on short notice since you don't have to . . ."
Elizabeth looked up in surprise when Anna stopped in the middle of her sentence. "Since I don't have to what?"
"Nothing," Anna said sheepishly, not quite meeting her eye.
That was when she realized what Anna had been about to say and why she
hadn't said it. "Since I don't have children to worry about," she
finished for her friend.
"I'm so sorry," Anna said quickly,
obviously ashamed to have brought up the sensitive subject. Elizabeth
and Gideon had been married well over a year with no hint of a baby, a
lack Elizabeth mourned, albeit quietly.
"That's all right,"
Elizabeth said with a false smile. "I don't have children yet, so I
should take advantage of that freedom. I just hope we have enough time
to make our travel arrangements. The Woman's Party is low on funds, so I
don't think Miss Paul will be wasting money on long-distance telephone
calls or telegrams."
"Low on funds?" Anna scoffed, taking
Elizabeth's hint to change the subject. "Won't Mrs. Belmont help them
out?" The wealthy Mrs. Belmont was the main benefactor for the Party.
"I don't know, but Miss Paul also asked me for a donation when she wrote to invite me to go to Tennessee."
"She's always asking for donations," Anna reminded her.
"This one sounded a little desperate, though. I know she'll want to go to Tennessee herself so she can direct the volunteers."
"Yes, this is much too important to leave it to anyone else."
"Which is why I sent her some money," Elizabeth said.
"I'll send some, too, although it won't be much. Mother still refuses
to understand that we need to economize since we don't have David to
support us anymore."
"That's kind of you. I do wish you could go with us."
Anna smiled mischievously. "Yes, we could have a wonderful time with
those legislators. Do you think we could run a con to get them to
support the amendment?"
Elizabeth gave her a disapproving glare.
"I should never have let you kill me." As part of a con, Anna had once
pretended to murder Elizabeth, which had ironically saved Elizabeth's
life.
