Patricia F. Staley Livres

When Lincoln issued a call for troops in 1861, Norwich sprang into action. In a meeting lasting two days, the town elected to offer cash awards for volunteers, as well as financial support for their families. The city's women immediately began sewing uniforms for the volunteer soldiers, while mill owners and other wealthy locals donated funds to the war effort. Norwich's Dan Tyler was named head of the Connecticut regiment and led his troops into battle at Bull Run. The town's senator, Lafayette Foster, became acting vice president of the United States after Lincoln's assassination. Author Tricia Staley uncovers stories of valor and sacrifice on the homefront and the battlefield.

Stroll down Norwich's most fashionable mile of millionaires' mansions and mingle with the extraordinary people who lived and played behind their elegant facades during the glamorous Gilded Age. Wealthy manufacturers and merchants constructed magnificent mansions, many of which survive today, along this trendiest triangle in the glitzy Rose of New England. Tricia Staley has uncovered forgotten scandals like the Blackstone baby kidnapping and the bank cashiers who embezzled thousands of dollars from wealthy residents, as well as the drama of fortunes made and lost. Meet Tiffany's founding partner John Young, rubber shoe manufacturing king William A. Buckingham, the Slaters, Greenes, Hubbards and more salacious, stylish titans of industry and extravagance.