Jabez by David Mckie

Jabez by David Mckie

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Summary

'An irresistible tale of greed and gullibility. Imagine the escapades of Robert Maxwell, Jeffrey Archer and Ronnie Biggs all re-written as a Victorian novel, and you have the true story of Jabez Spencer Balfour MP' (Francis Wheen)

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Jabez by David Mckie

Jabez, as he was universally known, was a business man, philanthropist, politician, temperance campaigner and charmer. He was also an astonishing scoundrel - a liar, adulterer and cheat - who perpetrated the most destructive fraud of the nineteenth century. When the Liberator building society collapsed under the weight of its own extravagant malpractice, thousands of people were left defrauded and destitute. Jabez, the Liberator's moving spirit, immediately took flight to Argentina, accompanied (scandalously) by a female ward half his age. Eventually, a determined Scotland Yard detective caught up withJabez, and kidnapped him on a high-speed train across South America from whence he was hauled back to justice. David McKie's account of the rise and fall of this charismatic swindler brings the man and the times trumpeting to life.McKie describes the massive charm offensives, the growth and collapse of the vast Jabez empire, his scandalous escape and dramatic extradition, and the sensational show trail that followed.
David McKie joined the Guardian in 1965. He was deputy editor from 1975 to 1984 and now writes the 'Elsewhere' and 'Smallweed' columns for the paper.
SKU Unavailable
ISBN 13 9781843541301
ISBN 10 1843541300
Title Jabez
Author David Mckie
Condition Unavailable
Binding Type Hardback
Publisher Atlantic Books
Year published 2004-03-11
Number of pages 208
Cover note Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.