The true Jazz Age tale of America's first gangster couple, Margaret
and Richard Whittemore
Before Bonnie and Clyde there were Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid. In the
wake of world war, a pandemic, and an economic depression, Margaret and
Richard Whittemore, two love-struck working-class kids from Baltimore,
reached for the dream of a better life. The couple headed up a gang that
in less than a year stole over one million dollars' worth of diamonds
and precious gems--over ten million dollars today.
Margaret was a chic flapper, the archetypal gun moll, partner to her
husband's crimes. Richard was the quintessential bad boy, whose cunning
and violent ambition allowed the Whittemores to live the kind of lives
they'd only seen in the movies. Along the way he killed at least three
men, until prosecutors managed a conviction. As tabloids across the
country exclaimed the details of the couple's star-crossed romance, they
became heroes to a new generation of young Americans who sought their
own version of freedom.
Set against the backdrop of the Roaring Twenties' excesses, acclaimed
author Glenn Stout takes us from the jailhouse to the speakeasy, from
the cabarets where the couple celebrated good times to the gallows where
their story finally came to an end--leaving Tiger Girl pining for a
final kiss. Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid is a thrilling tale of rags
to riches, tragedy and infamy.
