Maureen Hughes was first introduced to Countess Marajen Chinigo in the 1980s in a hospital room in Champaign, Illinois. Assigned to provide personal security to the Countess, Hughes knew few details about the woman she was protecting. Little did she know that Countess Chinigo was a woman connected to some of the most notorious and famousor infamouspeople of the twentieth century. Hughes did not see the Countess again until a few years later at a local art museum. Intrigued by the impeccably dressed woman who strolled through the crowd like a queen, Hughes vowed to find out all she could about the mysterious Countess. As Hughes shares the fascinating story she uncovered after conducting three years of research and in-depth conversations with friends of the Countess, she unveils a time period where mobsters, presidents, celebrities, and countesses all mingled among dark, captivating secrets. Hughes reveals details about the famous figures the Countess hobnobbed with like Frank Sinatra, Joan Crawford, and Lucky Luciano, her marriage to Johnny Rosselli, and her eventual entanglements with the Mafia. The Countess and the Mob paints a compelling portrait of the kaleidoscopic shapes and colors that made up the extraordinary and unforgettable life of Countess Marajen Stevick Chinigo.

From its earliest days, the Mafia has sought to make a fast buck from the American film industry. Stories of intimidation, threats and violence mingle with those of glamour and excess. In this stunning story of infamy and ballsy enterprise, Tim Adler tells the secret history of Al Capone, Sam Giancana and John Gotti's attempts to infiltrate the studio lots. However, although they have controlled the moguls and the money, the Mob learned how to be cool from classic films like The Godfather and characters like Tony Soprano, leaving them forever intertwined in both fact and fiction.

'A scintillating story superbly told... [Ostler] packs every paragraph with eye-opening detail' The Times 'A rollicking read... [Ostler] tells Elizabeth's story with admirable style and gusto' Sunday Times 'Terrifically entertaining: if you liked Bridgerton, you’ll love this...and her research is impeccable' Evening Standard 'Fascinating. Magnificent.​ Sensitively told' Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Five 'Catherine Ostler’s superb, gripping, decadent biography brings an extraordinary woman and a whole world blazingly to life' Simon Sebag Montefiore When the glamorous Elizabeth Chudleigh, Duchess of Kingston, Countess of Bristol, went on trial at Westminster Hall for bigamy in April 1776, the story drew more attention in society than the American War of Independence. A clandestine, candlelit wedding to the young heir to an earldom, a second marriage to a Duke, a lust for diamonds and an electrifying appearance at a masquerade ball in a diaphanous dress: no wonder the trial was a sensation. However, Elizabeth refused to submit to public humiliation and retire quietly. Rather than backing gracefully out of the limelight, she embarked on a Grand Tour of Europe, being welcomed by the Pope and Catherine the Great among others. As maid of honour to Augusta, Princess of Wales, Elizabeth led her life in the inner circle of the Hanoverian court and her exploits delighted and scandalised the press and the people. She made headlines, and was a constant feature in penny prints and gossip columns. Writers were intrigued by her. Thackeray drew on Elizabeth as inspiration for his calculating, alluring Becky Sharp. But her behaviour, often depicted as attention-seeking and manipulative, hid a more complex tale – that of Elizabeth’s fight to overcome personal tragedy and loss. Now, in this brilliantly told and evocative biography, Catherine Ostler takes a fresh look at Elizabeth’s story and seeks to understand and reappraise a woman who refused to be defined by society’s expectations of her. A woman who was by turns, brave, loving and generous but also reckless, greedy and insecure; a woman totally unwilling to accept the female status of underdog or to hand over all the power, the glory and the adventures of life to men.

Jeannie Deans goes to London from Edinburgh to obtain a pardon for her sister who has been unjustly accused of murdering her own son--Novelist.