author
Austin Bidwell
A remarkably candid memoir from one of the men behind the 1873 Bank of England forgery, it follows a path from Wall Street schemes to years of imprisonment in London. The book stands out for its firsthand look at confidence tricks, capture, and the harsh realities of Victorian prison life.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born Austin Biron Bidwell, he was an American confidence man best known for his role in the 1873 Bank of England forgery case. He was tried at the Old Bailey and sentenced to life imprisonment, and his name remains closely tied to one of the most famous financial frauds of the Victorian era.
After years in prison, he wrote Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison: Fifteen Years in Solitude, published in 1897. The memoir traces his early life in Brooklyn, his criminal career, and his long confinement, giving readers a rare first-person account of fraud, punishment, and survival.
Because reliable biographical details about his personal life are limited in the sources reviewed here, he is best remembered through that extraordinary memoir and the notorious case that inspired it.