The Five Points

The Five Points finished in the top five, out of over 7,000 entries, in the 1997 HarperCollins Best Seller Contest. The Five Points neighborhood of 19th Century New York City was undoubtedly the most crime-ridden, impoverished, and dangerous place of its day. While people tend to think of this era as a glossy, golden age, it was, unfortunately, a world of unparalleled corruption, intrigue, and violence. Dominated by thieves, murderers, swindlers, brothels, and gangs with such colorful names as The Dead Rabbits, The Whyos, and The Plug Uglies, the neighborhood had long been a symbol of urban misery and toughness. This work, through two stories, attempts to bring this world back to life. You will meet: Petey Daley, the shrewd and fierce leader of The Dead Rabbits; Police Superintendent Connery, an honest cop struggling with a dishonest system; and Rudy and Ted, two con artists who know just what to do. Whenever novels and Hollywood try to tackle 19th Century America, they always seem to focus on the wild, wild West. Welcome, everyone, to the wild, wild Lower East Side.