William F. Howe

William F. Howe was a 19th-century American trial lawyer best known as one half of the New York firm Howe and Hummel. He is also remembered as a writer through Danger! A True History of a Great City's Wiles and Temptations, a vivid account of crime, vice, and urban risk aimed at general readers.

Born in 1828 and dying in 1902, Howe built a reputation as a dramatic and highly visible courtroom advocate. Accounts of his life consistently connect him with New York City’s criminal courts, where his flair for performance helped make him a notable public figure as well as a legal one.

For audiobook listeners, his appeal is historical as much as literary: his writing opens a window onto the anxieties, curiosities, and moral debates of late 19th-century city life. Whether read as reportage, cautionary tale, or period true crime, his work captures a noisy and unforgettable side of old New York.