Overview

The true story of a brilliantly forged Emily Dickinson poem sold at Sotheby’s in 1997. The author’s detective work led him across America to a prison cell in Salt Lake City, where the world’s greatest literary forger, Mark Hofmann, is serving a life sentence for double-murder. When the author sets out on the trail of a forged Emily Dickinson poem that has mysteriously turned up for sale at Sotheby’s in New York, he finds himself drawn into a world of deception and murder. The trail eventually leads, via the casinos of Las Vegas, to Utah and the darkly compelling world of Mark Hofmann, ex-Mormon and one of the most daring literary forgers and remorseless murderers of all time. As the author uncovers Hofmann’s brilliant, and disturbing, career, he takes the reader into the secret world of the Mormon Church and its controversial founder, Joseph Smith. Deeply researched but with the narrative pace of a novel, Worrall’s investigation into the life and crimes of this charismatic genius is a real-life detective story you simply won’t be able to put down. On the way, you will meet an eclectic cast of characters: undercover detectives and rare book dealers, Dickinson scholars, forensic document experts, hypnotists, gun-dealers and Mormons. As the story reaches its gripping climax, Hofmann becomes trapped in the web of his own deceptions … and turns to murder.

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9781841155876

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Reviews

'What a story! I found Simon Worrall's wonderful book utterly enthralling. I read it at one sitting and learned all sorts of things from its multitudes of fascinations. To have crafted a book that manages to connect the poignant solitude of Emily Dickinson with the bizarre beliefs of the Mormon church, and by way of tales of bombings, brakruptcy and counterfeiting, is the mark of a truly superb talent.' Simon Winchester, author of 'The Surgeon of Crowthorne' 'An adventurous and sensational narrative.' Peter Ackroyd, The Times 'Fascinating.' Mail on Sunday 'A cracking tale: the labyrinthine story he uncovers is beautifully paced and as complex as any conspiracy theory: a work of non-fiction, it reads like a thriller.' Observer 'An astonishing tale!enthralling!all this makes for an even more engrossing yarn than that told in The Surgeon of Crowthorne .' Jonathan Sale, Financial Times

'What a story! I found Simon Worrall's wonderful book utterly enthralling. I read it at one sitting and learned all sorts of things from its multitudes of fascinations. To have crafted a book that manages to connect the poignant solitude of Emily Dickinson with the bizarre beliefs of the Mormon church, and by way of tales of bombings, brakruptcy and counterfeiting, is the mark of a truly superb talent.' Simon Winchester, author of THE SURGEON OF CROWTHORNE An adventurous and sensational narrative.' Peter Ackroyd, The Times 'Compelling...this tale is fascinating and Worrall tells it in just the right way: as an intelligent, fast-moving thriller.' 'Fascinating.' Mail on Sunday 'A cracking tale: the labyrinthine story he uncovers is beautifully paced and as complex as any conspiracy theory: a work of non-fiction, it reads like a thriller.' Observer 'An astonishing tale...enthralling...all this makes for an even more engrossing yarn than that told in The Surgeon of Crowthorne.' Jonathan Sale, Financial Times

'What a story! I found Simon Worrall's wonderful book utterly enthralling. I read it at one sitting and learned all sorts of things from its multitudes of fascinations. To have crafted a book that manages to connect the poignant solitude of Emily Dickinson with the bizarre beliefs of the Mormon church, and by way of tales of bombings, brakruptcy and counterfeiting, is the mark of a truly superb talent.' Simon Winchester, author of 'The Surgeon of Crowthorne' 'An adventurous and sensational narrative.' Peter Ackroyd, The Times 'Fascinating.' Mail on Sunday 'A cracking tale: the labyrinthine story he uncovers is beautifully paced and as complex as any conspiracy theory: a work of non-fiction, it reads like a thriller.' Observer 'An astonishing tale...enthralling...all this makes for an even more engrossing yarn than that told in The Surgeon of Crowthorne .' Jonathan Sale, Financial Times

'A cracking tale: the labyrinthine story he uncovers is beautifully paced and as complex as any conspiracy theory: a work of non-fiction, it reads like a thriller.' Observer 'Utterly enthralling' Simon Winchester, author of 'The Professor and the Madman' 'A terrific story, terrifically told' New York Daily News 'An adventurous and sensational narrative' Peter Ackroyd, The Times

Simon Worrall's investigation into the life and crimes of arguably the most accomplished literary forger the world has ever seen is one of those real-life detective stories you simply cannot put down. In the late 1990s, Worrall read an article about a poem by the reclusive American poet Emily Dickinson which had been auctioned at Sotheby's for $21,000 but later returned as a forgery. Intrigued as to how anyone could produce such an apparently perfect fake, persuade world experts of its authenticity and have it sold by one of the world's leading auction houses, Worrall contacted the buyer of the document and thus started out on the trail of Mark Hoffman. Hoffmann hated and despised the Mormon religion into which he had been born, and at the age of 14 discovered an aptitude for forgery. He set about undermining the central tenets of the faith by producing a string of forged letters, diary entries and tracts which were remarkable not only for their technical mastery and the painstaking historical research which supported them but also for the way in which Hoffmann used self-hypnosis to get into the mind of the putative author and produce entirely convincing documents. Hoffmann became obsessed with the feeling of power which his apparent ability to rewrite history gave him and ever more dependant on the huge amounts of money which he could command, and it was these two factors which were to bring about his downfall. A combination of complacency and increased borrowing to fund his extravagant lifestyle and obsessive desire for rare books caused his web of deceit to unravel, and in a last-ditch attempt to cover his tracks he had no compunction in using home-made bombs to commit a double murder with the same detached ruthlessness with which he had produced and disseminated his forgeries. In this riveting account Worrall not only lays bear the workings of the mind of a master forger and murderer but also provides fascinating accounts of the history and methodology of forgery and an insight into the shady dealings of the Mormon Church and the great auction houses of the world. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Simon Worrall was born in Wellington, England in 1951, and spent his childhood in East Africa and SIngapore. He has written for magazines and newspapers all over the world, including the Sunday Times, the Independent, the Guardian and the New Yorker. He lives in East Hampton with his wife and son.

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