On Thursday, February 27, journalist and historian Michael Wolraich, author of The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age, will make a guest appearance at West Chester University (WCU).
All are welcome to attend this free lecture, book signing, and reception at 3:30 PM in Philips Autograph Library in the Philips Memorial Building at 700 South High Street. Paperbacks of The Bishop and the Butterfly will be available for sale.
Wolraich’s visit complements the current exhibition in the University’s Museum of Anthropology and Sociology: Roaring in Secret: Subversion and Change in the 1920s.
Wolraich’s true-crime narrative highlights early New York Police Department corruption when the body of a woman was found in 1930 leading to an investigation that ultimately exposed and destroyed years of the shady political machine’s influence. The novel provides insight into the roles that crime and politics played in New York during the Jazz Age.
Through his writings on historical events, Wolraich both sheds light on past events and pushes to create conversations about our political climate today, helping readers further understand and make connections to modern politics.
The Bishop and the Butterfly has gained ample media attention including a feature in Untapped New York: Best NYC Books of All Time; Washington Independent Review of Books: Our Favorite Books of 2024; Chicago Review of Books: Seven of the Best Historical True Crime Books of 2024; and CrimeReads: The Best Reviewed Books of the Month. The book received a nomination for Best Fact Crime at the 2025 Edgar Allen Poe Awards.
“Michael Wolraich’s book is a fascinating look at the intrigue and subversion in culture and politics of the 1920s — a key idea in the Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology’s newest exhibition, Roaring in Secret: Subversion and Change in the 1920s,” stated Dr. Michael Di Giovine, Professor of Anthropology and Museum Studies. “In fact, as soon as we began planning the exhibition, I knew that we had to host him here for a book signing.”
Dr. Di Giovine, who is also the advisor of the Anthropology Club, credited the club’s participation noting, “The members are a great group of engaged students, and always plan such exciting activities that are of interest not only to West Chester University members, but the greater community as well.”
The event is sponsored by WCU’s Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology as well as the Anthropology Club. Contact [email protected] or Di Giovine at [email protected] or 610-436-2247 for more information.
Learn more at WCU. Enrolling more than 17,000 students, West Chester University is the largest institution in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Founded in 1871, the University is a comprehensive public institution, offering a diverse range of more than 200 undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programs in more than 50 fields of study.
