Author Guide · Narrative History
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Margalit Fox trained as a cellist and a linguist before she became a journalist, and spent fourteen years writing obituaries for The New York Times, front-page sendoffs of some of the best-known people of her time. Her books are about forgotten people and unsolved puzzles: an ancient script nobody could read, a wrongly convicted man freed by Arthur Conan Doyle, two prisoners of war who escaped with a homemade Ouija board, and a Jewish mother who became New York's first great crime boss. This guide covers all five of her books in order, and where to start.
By Lisanne Swart · 5 books · Narrative history · 2007–2024 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Margalit Fox has published five books: Talking Hands (2007), about a new sign language; The Riddle of the Labyrinth (2013), about the decipherment of Linear B; Conan Doyle for the Defense (2018); The Confidence Men (2021); and The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum (2024). The first two are about language, the last three about crime and deception, and all of them read like detective stories.
Where to Start with Margalit Fox
If you want the famous one
→ The Riddle of the Labyrinth (2013).
If you want true crime
→ Conan Doyle for the Defense (2018).
If you want a thriller
→ The Confidence Men (2021).
If you want the most recent
→ The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum (2024).
All 5 Margalit Fox Books, in Order
Talking Hands
Fox follows a team of linguists studying a sign language that arose on its own in a Bedouin village in Israel with a high rate of hereditary deafness, and explains what it shows about how the mind makes language.
The Riddle of the Labyrinth
The decipherment of Linear B, the Bronze Age script found on tablets at Knossos: the archaeologist Arthur Evans, the architect Michael Ventris who cracked it, and the overlooked classicist Alice Kober whose work made it possible. The New York Times Book Review named it one of the notable books of the year.
Conan Doyle for the Defense
In 1908 a Jewish immigrant, Oscar Slater, was convicted of a murder in Glasgow he did not commit. Arthur Conan Doyle took up his case, and nearly twenty years later Slater was freed.
The Confidence Men
Two officers held in a remote Ottoman prison camp during the First World War convinced their captors, with a homemade Ouija board, that they could find buried treasure, in one of the strangest escapes of the war. It was nominated for an Edgar Award and optioned for film.
The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum
Fredericka “Marm” Mandelbaum, a German-Jewish immigrant on New York's Lower East Side, built a vast business fencing stolen goods in the Gilded Age, organising thieves and bank robbers while remaining a respected member of her synagogue.
How Many Books Did Margalit Fox Write?
Five books between 2007 and 2024.
- Language — Talking Hands (2007) and The Riddle of the Labyrinth (2013). Read the entries →
- Crime and deception — Conan Doyle for the Defense (2018), The Confidence Men (2021) and The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum (2024). Read the entries →
In What Order to Read Margalit Fox
Her books are not a series. Each one solves a puzzle, and each can be read on its own.
A reading path
1. The Riddle of the Labyrinth (2013)
2. The Confidence Men (2021)
3. Conan Doyle for the Defense (2018)
4. The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum (2024)
5. Talking Hands (2007)
Quick facts about Margalit Fox
- Born
- Glen Cove, New York
- Trained as
- A cellist and a linguist
- The New York Times
- 1994–2018: staff editor at the Book Review, then senior writer on the obituaries desk
- Prize
- William Saroyan Prize, for The Riddle of the Labyrinth
- Lives
- Manhattan
- Books
- 5, from Talking Hands (2007) to The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum (2024)
How Margalit Fox Writes: History as a Detective Story
Fox shapes her histories as investigations. She likes a procedural story, in which a puzzle is solved step by step, and her books follow the people who solved them, from codebreakers to Conan Doyle.
Her years writing obituaries trained her to tell a whole life clearly and quickly, and to look for the people history has forgotten: Alice Kober in The Riddle of the Labyrinth, or Mrs. Mandelbaum, who left almost no personal records behind.
Margalit Fox on The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum
Watch the conversation at Hadassah Magazine →
Margalit Fox in conversation with Lisa Hostein, executive editor of Hadassah Magazine, West Palm Beach, 2025.Frequently asked questions about Margalit Fox's books
How many books has Margalit Fox written?
Margalit Fox has published five books: Talking Hands (2007), The Riddle of the Labyrinth (2013), Conan Doyle for the Defense (2018), The Confidence Men (2021) and The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum (2024).
What is The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum about?
The Talented Mrs. Mandelbaum (2024) is the true story of Fredericka Mandelbaum, a Jewish immigrant who became one of the most powerful crime bosses in Gilded Age New York.
Is The Confidence Men a true story?
Yes. The Confidence Men (2021) tells the true story of two British officers who escaped from an Ottoman prisoner-of-war camp during the First World War by using a Ouija board to deceive their captors.
Did Margalit Fox write obituaries for The New York Times?
Yes. She was a senior writer in the obituary department of The New York Times until she retired from the paper in 2018.
Footnotes
Bibliography last verified 1 October 2026.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all hers.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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