Abraham Oakey Hall: New York's Most Elegant and Controversial Mayor Book

Ask a New Yorker on the street today what he or she thinks of Abraham Oakey Hall, and you'll be met with a puzzled glance. But if you had asked that same question of a citizen on that same sidewalk in 1871, you would have received an earful. Some thought he was brilliant. Some thought he was crazy. Dubbed Elegant Oakey by the citizens of New York City in the 1870s, Hall lived his life and governed the city in full color, by far the most flamboyant and interesting mayors the city has ever had. Always dressed impeccably with the highest fashions of the day and wearing his trademark pince-nez glasses, Hall became the toast of New York City. But the charming finesse by which Hall lived has been overshadowed by his alleged participation in the Tweed Ring theft scandal that rocked New York City in 1871 during his mayoralty. Hall was accused of stealing money along with William Boss Tweed and other city officials. Whenever Hall is mentioned, he is associated with the scandal, even given the fact that he was tried three times and acquitted. Abraham Oakey Hall: New York's Most Elegant and Controversial Mayor takes the reader along an intimate journal through Hall's life, full of interesting stories and anecdotes and asks the reader to serve as an historic jury member to decide Hall's innocence or guilt. What say you? From the Introduction: I would like to think that Hall would be pleased with this biography. He loved attention, craved it, and made sure everything he did was in bold. So I decided the world needs to be introduced to Abraham Oakey Hall. I wanted to give the reader a sense of who this man really was. Not just the ambitious young man deciding what to do with his life and how to do it. Not just the skilled lawyer. Not just the respected district attorney. Not just his entanglement with Tweed and the members of 'The Ring.' Not just the allegedly corrupt mayor. Not just the actor. Not just the writer. But the whole man. Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you His Honor, Mayor Hall of New York City. Before Giuliani and Koch, there was Elegant Oakey. Who is Abraham Oakey Hall? Skilled lawyer? District Attorney? Playwright and actor? Journalist? Mayor of New York City? Was he really a corrupt politician entangled in the Tweed Ring over a century ago as the newspapers of the time investigated? Abraham Oakey Hall: New York's Most Elegant and Controversial Mayor offers a revealing glimpse into the life of this historic and entertaining New York figure.