by Judge Joseph A. Cox ‧ RELEASE DATE: N/A
(YA) Another plum tree to be shaken is this fascinating (certainly for the first half of the book) account of Ida Wood who retired to her room in a small hotel with her sister Mary after the Panic of 1907 to stay there until her death in 1932, at 95, a cantankerous, rather forlorn, once beautiful woman, smoking black cigars in a rocking chair. At her death some 1103 persons contended they were the heirs to her fortune (more than a million in bills and bonds) hidden under old frying pans and cake tins in the room which looked like a rummage sale. There were also fabulous pieces of jewelry, the gift of her husband, once publisher of the Daily News, and 5000 pieces of soap. Judge Cox, who as a young man was the counsel for the Public Administrator of N.Y. County, headed the long search for Ida's real identity which takes up the second half of the book leading him to Ireland and England to determine who she was through a discrepancy of dates, cryptic notations, and actual deceptions (and who was Emma, who predeceased her- her illegitimate daughter? her sister?). All of it is a very reasonable reconstruction by Judge Cox, along with his concluding interpretation... Certainly much less is known here than about Hetty Green, but again egregious eccentricity has a very healthy appeal, and a present day privacy invasion much as this should attract many onlookers.
Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: N/A
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1964
Categories: NONFICTION
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Hey there, book lover.
We’re glad you found a book that interests you!
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Trouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Don’t fret. We’ll find you.