- Hardcover
- New
Seller: Boswell's Books, Shelburne Falls, MA, U.S.A.Boswell's Books
AbeBooks seller since February 5, 2026
Condition: New
£ 40.36
Quantity: 1 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
Condition Notes: New from the publisher.
Seller Inventory # 1734868
- Title
- The Veiled Prophet
- Author
- O'Shea, Devin Thomas
- Publisher
- Haymarket Books
- Publication year
- 2026
- Condition
- New
- Binding
- hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 13
- 9798888905791
- Item weight
- 1.737 pounds
A provocative look at the secret society that has controlled St. Louis for over a century, revealing how shadowy elites organize themselves against working-class power.
Every December in downtown St. Louis, the city’s upper crust attend a garish costume party that doubles as a debutante’s ball. The daughters of high society are paraded to the throne of a cloaked monarchical figure, and bow to the Veiled Prophet of Khorassan. At first glance, the event seems outdated and clownish, but in truth the Veiled Prophet Society has functioned as an exclusive club for the “city fathers,” where solidarity is built between wealthy men who head major U.S. corporations, banks, and control whole industries. At the Veiled Prophet’s Ball, these titans of capital come together to crown one of their daughters the Queen of Love and Beauty, and celebrate the breaking of strikes, the sabotage of protests, and the enforcement of racial hierarchies.
Devin Thomas O’Shea’s The Veiled Prophet is the definitive history of the Veiled Prophet Society in all its violence and pageantry, offering a colorful alternate history of the United States through the lens of the Midwestern elite. O’Shea follows the Veiled Prophet Society from its origins in the wake of the 1877 general strike, through the 1904 World’s Fair, to the height of the Prophet’s―and St. Louis’s―influence during the Cold War. The Veiled Prophet examines the unexpected ways this secret society has shaped the course of history, from the CIA to the Vietnam War to the assassination of Martin Luther King.
Yet the power wielded by the Veiled Prophet has not gone uncontested. Since the Gilded Age, the Prophet has faced resistance from orphans armed with pea-shooters, Communist Party organizers during the Depression, Civil Rights icons, and renegade debutantes. The Ferguson uprising of 2014 was only the most recent challenge to the Prophet’s influence.
As the fight for the soul and streets of St. Louis intensifies, it’s more critical than ever that we expose the sordid history of these powerful, masked figures and their control over our democracy.
"Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
Devin Thomas O’Shea is a writer in St. Louis. His work has appeared in The Nation, Slate, The Iowa Review, Jacobin, Boulevard, and elsewhere.
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Boswell's Books
Shelburne Falls, MA, U.S.A.
AbeBooks seller since February 5, 2026
Shipping rates within U.S.A.
| Item | 5 to 14 business days | 3 to 6 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 0.00 | £ 4.88 |
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A Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, institution since 1991. We are committed to providing our community with an up-to-date and frequently refreshed selection of the best new and used books we can find. We are members of the New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA), and we strive to meet the diverse needs of our community in Western Massachusetts. This includes stocking NEIBA's recommendations, NYT bestsellers, academic and university presses, and small, independent presses. Our staff also regularly makes purchasing recommendations, and we all work to stock the best used books we can find. You'll find our stock updated almost daily!…
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