The setting is Britain between the wars. The main character is Netley Lucas, the Prince of Trickstersconfidence man, confessional autobiographer, and Royal biographer. But Netley is also a gentleman crook, a criminologist, a predatory rake, a pathological liar, and discredited fraud. His biographies of the Royal family were bestsellers. He corresponded with celebrated novelists and actors, senior detectives and notorious murderers, politicians, and monarchs. This international man of mystery turns out to be a lens through ...
Read More
The setting is Britain between the wars. The main character is Netley Lucas, the Prince of Trickstersconfidence man, confessional autobiographer, and Royal biographer. But Netley is also a gentleman crook, a criminologist, a predatory rake, a pathological liar, and discredited fraud. His biographies of the Royal family were bestsellers. He corresponded with celebrated novelists and actors, senior detectives and notorious murderers, politicians, and monarchs. This international man of mystery turns out to be a lens through which the entire interwar period in Britain (and by implication, Europe and North America) can be understood. During this period, the confidence man was the paragon, the identity marker at a time when the devastation of war and its aftermath was upending social hierarchies and fueling fantasies of upward mobility. Netley Lucas embodied a new idea of what the self was becomingprotean, performative, Promethean. Tricksters sparked a profound public fascination during the 20s and 30s with individuals who could fake it, crossing boundaries of class, gender, race, ethnicity, age, by masquerading as something they were not. As Houlbrook says of his own book, it explains why modern life itself has now become a racket. In the course of laying out this multifaceted story, Houlbrook shows dramatically how elusive truth can be, how our desire to imagine ourselves into the past makes us complicit in requiring history to, in effect, misrepresent the past. Ultimately, Houlbrook s adventure with the many lives of Netley Lucas makes us ask new and troubling questions about what we expect from the enterprise of history. Along the way, he beguiles us with hugely entertaining glimpses of conmen, chancers, vamps, and wannabes. "
Read Less
Add this copy of Prince of Tricksters: the Incredible True Story of to cart. $41.85, new condition, Sold by Kennys.ie rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Galway, IRELAND, published 2016 by University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of Prince of Tricksters to cart. $42.45, new condition, Sold by Ria Christie Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Uxbridge, MIDDLESEX, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2016 by University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of Prince of Tricksters: The Incredible True Story of to cart. $42.73, new condition, Sold by Ria Christie Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Uxbridge, MIDDLESEX, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2016 by University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of Prince of Tricksters to cart. $46.29, new condition, Sold by Books2anywhere rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Fairford, GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2016 by The University of Chicago Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
Add this copy of Prince of Tricksters to cart. $49.19, new condition, Sold by Paperbackshop International rated 2.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Fairford, GLOS, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2016 by The University of Chicago Press.
Choose your shipping method in Checkout. Costs may vary based on destination.
Seller's Description:
PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT SHIP TO DENMARK. New Book. Shipped from UK in 4 to 14 days. Established seller since 2000. Please note we cannot offer an expedited shipping service from the UK.
Add this copy of Prince of Tricksters: The Incredible True Story of to cart. $52.80, new condition, Sold by Booksplease rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Southport, MERSEYSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2016 by University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of Prince of Tricksters to cart. $61.66, new condition, Sold by Paperbackshop rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Bensenville, IL, UNITED STATES, published 2016 by The University of Chicago Press.
Add this copy of Prince of Tricksters: the Incredible True Story of to cart. $124.25, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2016 by University of Chicago Press.
