No Fooling: Five Books for April Fool’s Day
April Fool's Day is a day set aside for pranks, jokes and general trickery however there are some individuals who construct complex illusions about their own lives and maintain them for extended periods of time. These books are biographies of infamous impostors.
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Catch Me If You Can: the Amazing True Story of the Most Extraordinary Liar in the History of Fun and Profit by Frank W. Abagnale
Serial impostor Frank Abagnale impersonated doctors, lawyers, professors and even a Pan-Am pilot while cashing $2.5 million in forged cheques all before his 21st birthday.
La Grande Thérèse: the Greatest Scandal of the Century by Hilary Spurling
In reality an impoverished peasant, Thérèse Humbert reinvented herself as a rich heiress fooling and swindling those around her as she became an influential member of social and political scene in late 19th century Paris.
The Man in the Rockefeller Suit: the Astonishing Rise and Spectacular Fall of a Serial Imposter by Mark Seal
Christian Gerhartsreiter assumed various identities to climb the social ladder, convincing many people, including his wife, that he was a member of the Rockefeller family before his deception fell apart completely and he was arrested on kidnapping charges.
The Perfect Prince: the Mystery of Perkin Warbeck and his Quest for the Throne of England by Ann Wroe
Perkin Warbeck was the son of a boatman in Flanders who challenged Henry VII for the throne claiming to be Richard, Duke of York, one of the Princes in the Tower believed to have been murdered by Richard III.
Phony! How I Faked My Way Through Life by Andrea Stanfield
Stanfield lied about her credentials in an interview with an accounting firm and eventually built a successful career on the basis of this falsehood. This memoir was written in order to cope with guilt over her dishonesty and as a warning to employers that people may not always be what they seem.
The Resurrection of the Romanovs: Anastasia, Anna Anderson and the World's Greatest Royal Mystery by Greg King and Penny Wilson
Historians King and Wilson explore the story of Anna Anderson, a troubled young woman who claimed to be Anastasia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas II.
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