Howe and Hummel: Their True and Scandalous History

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating social history
Review: Otherwise known as "The Magnificient Shysters," Howe and Hummel were two crooked lawyers of 19th century New York. If you think today's lawyers are crooks, you should read about the exploits of Messrs Howe and Hummel; they bear no comparison. For example you will read about suits for breach of promise. If a man slept with a woman on the understanding that he would shortly marry her, and he broke that promise, the woman could sue him for breach of promise to marry. Some of the lawyers' income depended on a coterie of sophisticated New York women, semi-prostitutes, who "led on" innocent young men from the sticks up in New York for the first time. After a brief relationship these women would file suit for breach of promise and daddy would invariably pay up rather than face the embarrassment of a public court case. If you like reading about the hidden by-ways of history you will love this book. A great little book.