Parlor Games: A Novel
(Adobe EPUB eBook, Kindle Book, OverDrive Read)
The novel opens in 1917 with our cunning protagonist, May Dugas, standing trial for extortion. As the trial unfolds, May tells her version of events.
In 1887, at the tender age of eighteen, May ventures to Chicago in hopes of earning enough money to support her family. Circumstances force her to take up residence at the city’s most infamous bordello, but May soon learns to employ her considerable feminine wiles to extract not only sidelong looks but also large sums of money from the men she encounters. Insinuating herself into Chicago’s high society, May lands a well-to-do fiancé—until, that is, a Pinkerton Agency detective named Reed Doherty intervenes and summarily foils the engagement.
Unflappable May quickly rebounds, elevating seduction and social climbing to an art form as she travels the world, eventually marrying a wealthy Dutch Baron. Unfortunately, Reed Doherty is never far behind and continues to track May in a delicious cat-and-mouse game as the newly-minted Baroness’s misadventures take her from San Francisco to Shanghai to London and points in between.
The Pinkerton Agency really did dub May the “Most Dangerous Woman,” branding her a crafty blackmailer and ruthless seductress. To many, though, she was the most glamorous woman to grace high society. Was the real May Dugas a cold-hearted swindler or simply a resourceful provider for her poor family?
As the narrative bounces back and forth between the trial taking place in 1917 and May’s devious but undeniably entertaining path to the courtroom—hoodwinking and waltzing her way through the gilded age and into the twentieth century—we're left to ponder her guilt as we move closer to finding out what fate ultimately has in store for our irresistible adventuress.
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Maryka Biaggio. (2013). Parlor Games: A Novel. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Maryka Biaggio. 2013. Parlor Games: A Novel. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Maryka Biaggio, Parlor Games: A Novel. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2013.
MLA Citation (style guide)Maryka Biaggio. Parlor Games: A Novel. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2013.
| Library | Owned | Available |
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| Shared Digital Collection | 3 | 3 |
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- bioText: Maryka Biaggio, a former psychology professor, has many scholarly publishing credits to her name, but Parlor Games is her debut novel. Maryka loves the challenge of starting with actual historical figures and dramatizing their lives—imagining what motivated them to behave as the did, studying how the cultural and historical context may have influenced them, and recreating some sense of their emotional world through dialogue and action. She travels extensively, for both work and pleasure, is crazy about opera, and enjoys gardening, art films, and, of course, great fiction. She lives in Portland, Oregon, that edgy green gem of the Pacific Northwest.
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- Based on a true story, comes a sweeping historical novel about a beautiful con artist whose turn-of-the-century escapades take her around the world as she's doggedly pursued by a Pinkerton Agency detective
The novel opens in 1917 with our cunning protagonist, May Dugas, standing trial for extortion. As the trial unfolds, May tells her version of events.
In 1887, at the tender age of eighteen, May ventures to Chicago in hopes of earning enough money to support her family. Circumstances force her to take up residence at the city’s most infamous bordello, but May soon learns to employ her considerable feminine wiles to extract not only sidelong looks but also large sums of money from the men she encounters. Insinuating herself into Chicago’s high society, May lands a well-to-do fiancé—until, that is, a Pinkerton Agency detective named Reed Doherty intervenes and summarily foils the engagement.
Unflappable May quickly rebounds, elevating seduction and social climbing to an art form as she travels the world, eventually marrying a wealthy Dutch Baron. Unfortunately, Reed Doherty is never far behind and continues to track May in a delicious cat-and-mouse game as the newly-minted Baroness’s misadventures take her from San Francisco to Shanghai to London and points in between.
The Pinkerton Agency really did dub May the “Most Dangerous Woman,” branding her a crafty blackmailer and ruthless seductress. To many, though, she was the most glamorous woman to grace high society. Was the real May Dugas a cold-hearted swindler or simply a resourceful provider for her poor family?
As the narrative bounces back and forth between the trial taking place in 1917 and May’s devious but undeniably entertaining path to the courtroom—hoodwinking and waltzing her way through the gilded age and into the twentieth century—we're left to ponder her guilt as we move closer to finding out what fate ultimately has in store for our irresistible adventuress. - reviews
- premium: False
- source: Kirkus Reviews
- content:
"An engaging glimpse into a character, who categorically eludes our attempts to define her."
- premium: False
- source: Booklist
- content: "This double-stranded narrative bounces back and forth between the extortion trial of turn-of-the-century con artist May Dugas and the international escapades that led to her arrest. Basing her novel loosely on a real-life figure, the woman the venerable Pinkerton Agency once dubbed the "Most Dangerous Woman," Biaggio re-creates the deliciously fabulous foibles and follies of a woman born into hardscrabble circumstances but determined to make her way in the world with wit, beauty, and a brazen ability to exploit her feminine charms for a very high price. Whether one admires or reviles May, theres no doubt that she [Biaggio] makes the most of every entertaining opportunity--and, hey, a girl's gotta make a living, especially with a particularly persistent Pinkerton detective hot on her heels. Sheer, frenetic fun."
- premium: False
- source: Daisy Goodwin, author of the New York Times bestseller American Heiress
- content: "Parlor Games is a captivating tale narrated by the irresistible and deliciously unreliable con-woman, May Dugas. Her escapades, which span the Gilded Age right through the turn-of-the-century, immediately transport the reader to a bygone era. It's a wildly entertaining and constantly surprising ride."
- premium: False
- source: Kate Alcott, author of the New York Times bestseller The Dressmaker
- content: "Come meet May Dugas, a con artist of the highest order. You'll be swept up by her delicious voice from the first page of Parlor Games, so prepare to be joyously fleeced. This jaunty tale through the life of a woman who keeps one step ahead of a dogged Pinkerton agent of the law is a true pleasure, something like munching your way through a box of chocolates all by yourself. Curl up and settle in for a lovely read."
- premium: False
- source: Eva Stachniak, the author of The Winter Palace
- content: "Like Becky Sharp from Vanity Fair before her, May Dugas--delightfully unrepentant--charms with tantalizing glimpses of her con games as she cheats her way from poverty into opulence."
- premium: False
- source: Matt Rees, author of Mozart's Last Aria
- content: "Parlor Games is both playful and deeply serious in its portrayal of one determined woman's battle to make her way in a man's world. You'll be cheering for May Dugas as she cons her way across the continents. She's a terrific creation."
- premium: True
- source:
- content:
May 27, 2013
The year is 1917 and our hero (or antihero perhaps), May Dugas, explains how she came to be on trial for extortion in Menominee, Mich. Before her capture, life in Chicago was a wild ride: May wormed her way into the upper echelon of society, conning men out of their money with her good looks and killer instinct. Narrator Leslie Carroll gives a stellar reading, deftly assuming the role of May. Carroll’s narration is flawless, and her character interpretations are endlessly original yet subtle. Rather than deliver an over-the-top performance, Carol offers up a restrained yet entirely appropriate reading that will entertain listeners to the very end. A Doubleday hardcover.
- premium: True
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October 15, 2012
The author traces the life of May Dugas, who schemes, thieves, claws, charms, swindles and whores her way to economic success. One of the tragedies of May's life is that she grew up in Menominee, Wis., and aspired to so much more. The dull Midwest couldn't contain her vaulting ambition and grand sense of self-destiny. The novel alternates between her trial for fraud in 1917 and flashbacks into her life as con artist, "lady of leisure" and manipulator extraordinaire. The lawsuit has been brought against her by Frank Shaver, a woman who had been May's close friend as well as her lover. Even more interesting than the trial is the pattern of behavior that led May to jack up her social status--so at one level, the narrative line fulfills the American myth of the self-made woman, whose pluck and courage lead her to economic and social success. Her pursuit of wealth--and occasional need to escape the law, especially in the form of the relentless Reed Dougherty, a Pinkerton detective who tracks her for years--leads her to Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, Shanghai, London, Amsterdam and other places, both exotic and non-. She eventually marries Rudolph de Vries, a Dutch baron, and this allows her the liberty to style herself a baroness. Along the way, she accrues lovers of both sexes, makes extravagant purchases of jewelry and engages in sordid business schemes promising huge rates of return through questionable means. When the judge rules that May owes Frank over $57,000, she makes one last attempt to escape her past as well as to shake off Dougherty's dogged pursuit. Based on a true story, Biaggio's narrative provides an engaging glimpse into a character who categorically eludes our attempts to define her.COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
- premium: True
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August 1, 2012
The Pinkerton Agency once called May Dugas "the most dangerous womanalive," but psychology professor-turned-novelist Biaggio gives us May's perspective. Seeking employment in 1887 Chicago at age 18, May uses her charms to wrestle money from men--and get herself engaged to a high-society type. Then Pinkerton detective Reed Doherty intervenes.
Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
- premium: True
- source:
- content:
October 1, 2012
This double-stranded narrative bounces back and forth between the extortion trial of turn-of-the-century con artist May Dugas and the international escapades that led to her arrest. Basing her novel loosely on a real-life figure, the woman the venerable Pinkerton Agency once dubbed the Most Dangerous Woman, Biaggio re-creates the deliciously fabulous foibles and follies of a woman born into hardscrabble circumstances but determined to make her way in the world with wit, beauty, and a brazen ability to exploit her feminine charms for a very high price. Whether one admires or reviles May, there's no doubt that she makes the most of every entertaining opportunityand, hey, a girl's gotta make a living, especially with a particularly persistent Pinkerton detective hot on her heels. Sheer, frenetic fun.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)
- premium: True
- source:
- content:
September 15, 2012
A beautiful con artist matches wits with a dogged Pinkerton detective in Biaggio's high-spirited debut. On trial in 1917 for allegedly tricking a close friend into giving her large sums of money, May Dugas looks back proudly on her exciting rise to notoriety. Her manipulations have taken her from a San Francisco brothel to the enviable position of baroness, and she has amassed wealth and broken hearts in a variety of exotic locales along the way. The unrepentant May's only regrets stem from Det. Reed Doherty's tendency to pop up in her life at truly inconvenient moments, exposing her secrets and wrecking her carefully laid plans. VERDICT May's seductions and schemes begin to feel a tad repetitive, and the frequently interspersed and overlong courtroom scenes relegate both her and Doherty to the role of spectator, thereby losing the energy gained elsewhere from their entertaining interactions. Still, this novel could appeal to historical fiction fans looking for an undemanding read, or to readers interested in historical crime stories based on real-life figures. [See Prepub Alert, 7/9/12.]--Mara Bandy, Champaign P.L., IL
Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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In 1887, at the tender age of eighteen, May ventures to Chicago in hopes of earning enough money to support her family. Circumstances force her to take up residence at the city’s most infamous bordello, but May soon learns to employ her considerable feminine wiles to extract not only sidelong looks but also large sums of money from the men she encounters. Insinuating herself into Chicago’s high society, May lands a well-to-do fiancé—until, that is, a Pinkerton Agency detective named Reed Doherty intervenes and summarily foils the... - sortTitle
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