Beadle's New York Dime Library, No. 460

# Museum Catalog Note

The Coolest Woman in New York, serialized fiction by Captain Howard Holmes, opens on the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset. An elderly gentleman recognizes a short, dark man with distinctive black eyes as Jean Valjen, a criminal he witnessed sentenced to life imprisonment in New Caledonia a decade earlier. The stranger is Benjamin Belden, an escaped convict seeking his former wife, Florette. He arrives at the mansion of wealthy Mrs. Dora Van Gordon, confronting her with a French reward notice and demanding her return as his wife. Mrs. Van Gordon coolly denies ever being Florette, defying his claims and threatening to alert Captain Coldgrip, a renowned city detective, if he persists. Belden departs, but warns he may return. The narrative combines mystery, blackmail intrigue, and urban crime detection amid New York high society.