The Substitute Millionaire

In Short

In Hulbert Footner’s 1919 mystery novel, The Substitute Millionaire, impoverished factory worker Jack Norman adopts the identity of a newly wealthy compatriot named Bobo to help him manage an enormous, mysterious inheritance. Operating out of the luxurious Hotel Madagascar—built on the site of an old insane asylum by a murdered miser—Jack navigates dangerous encounters with revolutionary anarchists and a ruthless criminal mastermind known as "Mr. B." Through disguise, deduction, and quiet romance, Jack exposes the conspirators, secures his future with a sensible working girl named Kate, and proves that great wealth brings greater perils.

The Story

The story begins in New York City shortly after the assassination of Silas Gyde, a notoriously eccentric multi-millionaire miser killed by a deranged anarchist named Emil Jansen. Amid public fascination with the dead man's vast, unaccounted-for fortune, Jack Norman encounters his former co-worker Bobo, who has unexpectedly inherited the hundred-million-dollar estate. Knowing Bobo lacks the acumen to protect himself, Jack steps in as his secretary and financial adviser. They take up residence in the newly completed Hotel Madagascar, a labyrinthine building concealing private vaults and hidden passages connected to an adjoining former asylum.

Almost immediately, Jack realizes that Bobo's sudden fortune attracts dangerous predators. Sinister radical groups, operating under front organizations like the "Future Age" and led by figures such as the fiery orator Barbarossa and the smooth, cold operative known as Comrade Wilde (later revealed as Harmon Evers), target the new millionaires with extortion and threats. Jack resolves to root out the extortionists, adopting disguises—including that of an eccentric old man named Pitman—to infiltrate radical meetings and track down the mysterious mastermind behind the anarchist cells.

As Jack investigates, he contends with social climbers like the manipulative Miriam Culbreth, who attempts to turn Bobo against Jack and isolate him. Simultaneously, Jack grows closer to Kate, a sensible working girl who keeps her head amid the chaos of sudden affluence. Tensions escalate when an assassin named Berg attempts to murder a wealthy associate named Delamare, though Jack and Delamare manage to disarm him. Jack traces the conspiracy deeper into financial and radical circles, realizing that the network of extortion reaches high into society.

Jack orchestrates an elaborate trap by faking his departure for British Guiana on a steamship while secretly swapping identities and tickets with a colleague. Returning to New York unobserved, Jack unmasks the mastermind, Harmon Evers, whose criminal empire collapses as police close in. With the conspiracy dismantled, Evers commits suicide to evade trial. Jack secures Bobo's future with a comfortable trust fund and reconciles him with Miriam. The story concludes happily as Jack marries Kate, and the couple prepares to sail away together to the tropics.

How It Unfolds

• The subway sensation: Jack Norman reads about the bomb explosion that kills the eccentric miser Silas Gyde, setting off a citywide obsession with the dead man's hidden fortune.
• A partnership of convenience: Jack meets his simple-minded former coworker Bobo, who has unexpectedly inherited the massive estate, and agrees to act as his secretary and protector at the lavish Hotel Madagascar.
• Undercover among radicals: Donning the disguise of an eccentric old man named Pitman, Jack infiltrates secret anarchist meetings to investigate the extortion ring targeting the city's wealthy elite.
• Intrigue at the hotel: Miriam Culbreth attempts to manipulate Bobo and turn him against Jack, forcing Jack to navigate complex personal betrayals alongside criminal threats.
• The assassination attempt: A radical named Berg attempts to shoot Delamare, but Jack and Delamare overpower him, preserving crucial evidence before police are called.
• The decoy voyage: Jack pretends to board a ship for South America to throw his enemies off balance, then slips back ashore to lay his final trap for the criminal mastermind.
• Justice and departure: The real mastermind is cornered, Evers takes his own life to escape justice, and Jack settles Bobo's affairs before marrying Kate and setting sail for the tropics.

The People

• Jack Norman: A clever, resourceful former bookkeeper who becomes Bobo's secretary. He wants to protect his naive friend and dismantle the extortion ring, and he ends up wealthy, married to Kate, and proven as a master investigator.
• Bobo: A simple-minded, good-natured factory worker who suddenly inherits a hundred million dollars. He wants only to enjoy fine food and luxury, and he ends up safe, financially secure, and entangled with Miriam.
• Miriam Culbreth: A calculating and ambitious social climber. She wants control over Bobo's wealth and attempts to oust Jack, but she ultimately fails and is left empty-handed.
• Harmon Evers (Comrade Wilde): A cold, sophisticated criminal mastermind directing the radical extortion network. He wants absolute control over the city's fortunes through fear, and he ends up cornered by the police, choosing suicide over trial.
• Kate: A grounded and sensible young woman. She wants honest work and security, and she ends up falling in love with Jack and joining him on a tropical voyage.

In Its Own Voice

• Describing the eccentric habits of the dead miser, the text notes: "It was said that with an income of perhaps six millions a year, he spent no more than six hundred."
• Reflecting on his newfound affluence and the cafes of New York, Jack remarks: "If you knew how mean I felt every day when we went to that beanery together, and you had to pay for your own lunch!"
• Observing the deceptive nature of the radical leaders, Jack reflects: "In anarchy, like other religions, there seems to be a considerable gap between preaching and practising."

What It's Really About

The novel explores the corrupting and isolating nature of extreme wealth, contrasting the hollow greed of high society with the genuine value of honest labor and companionship. It examines how vulnerability attracts exploitation, showing how easy it is for predatory individuals to manipulate the simple-minded or discontented under the guise of revolutionary politics. Footner questions the sincerity of radical ideologues, exposing how high-minded revolutionary rhetoric often masks ordinary greed, blackmail, and cowardice. Beneath the detective plot lies a meditation on identity, disguise, and the quiet resilience required to maintain personal integrity in a rapidly modernizing, money-obsessed world.

Why Read It Today

Readers who love briskly paced early-twentieth-century detective fiction, colorful New York settings, and clever disguises will find much to enjoy here. Reading The Substitute Millionaire feels like stepping into a vintage urban adventure where smoky hotel lobbies, secret vaults, and underground radical cells create an atmosphere of constant, low-stakes suspense. The prose moves swiftly, balancing lighthearted banter with genuine thrills, and the unfolding dynamic between the sharp-witted Jack and the blissfully gluttonous Bobo provides plenty of charm. Modern readers should note, however, that the novel reflects the period attitudes, class assumptions, and occasionally broad characterizations of 1919 New York. Despite these dated elements, the sheer ingenuity of Jack's amateur detective work and the romance at its core make it an entertaining, highly readable period piece that stays with you long after the final page.