Episode Details

London, 1920s: when a dazzling confidence artist begins leaving a trail of ruined men across the city — a jeweller dismissed as a lunatic after reporting vanished diamonds, a banker befriended at precisely the right moment then drugged and stripped of his holdings, a borrowed family left behind as collateral for a "baroness" who was never who she claimed — a brilliant Belgian detective and his faithful companion find themselves pursuing not a suspect but a phantom; she wears a hundred faces and answers to as many names, orchestrates illusions with the precision of a stage director, and turns every drawing room, jeweller's counter, and first-class hotel lobby into a theatre built entirely for her purposes — and when at last she steps from the shadows to confront her pursuer directly, the encounter becomes less an arrest than a duel between two minds that recognise, with mutual and uncomfortable clarity, how much they have in common; inspired by the real criminal prodigy Sheindlia-Sura Solomoniak, whose exploits fascinated police forces across Europe, while remaining entirely fictional, The Lady of Many Names is an original Golden Age-style mystery about elegance, deception, identity, and the dangerous art of illusion.

ℹ️ FOR LISTENERS

This is an original Golden Age-style mystery presented as a respectful homage to classic detective fiction, inspired by the real-life exploits of early 20th-century confidence artist Sheindlia-Sura Solomoniak. All characters and events in this story are fictional. No affiliation, endorsement, or official connection is implied. Written by Nicolas & Dora Laverty.

💬 QUESTION FOR THE COMMENTS

Would you have recognised her? If you met a woman who seemed perfectly elegant, perfectly polite, perfectly convincing — would your instincts have warned you, or would she have fooled you too? What detail, looking back through the story, would have given her away first? 🕵️

❤️ SUPPORT & LISTENING OPTIONS

📌 Patreon (ad-free episodes, early access, bonus content – tiers from $2.99/month) https://www.patreon.com/NocturnalTales❤️ Buy Me a Coffee (one-time support) https://buymeacoffee.com/nocturnaltales💛 PayPal (one-time tip) https://paypal.me/nocturnaltalesprod🎧 Spotify (follow the show) https://open.spotify.com/show/0OQ7OEseXIMbMt2NTI7oHy?si=FY8mgTx1SDqBdR7CJgymGw📚 CHILDREN'S BOOK (Amazon) Sherlock Paws and the Diamond of the Nile https://amzn.to/3MRzLNq

🧾 CREDITS

Written by Nocturnal Tales. Narrated by Nocturnal Tales.

🔖 TAGS / KEYWORDS

Belgian detective mystery audiobook, con artist mystery audiobook, 1920s London mystery, Bond Street mystery audiobook, confidence trick mystery, Golden Age mystery podcast, identity deception mystery, Sheindlia Solomoniak inspired mystery, female con artist mystery audiobook, psychological cat and mouse mystery, classic whodunit audiobook, vintage detective story, London society mystery, illusion and deception audiobook, British mystery podcast