The Napoleon of Crime - by Ben MacIntyre (Paperback)

About the Book

The Victorian era's most infamous thief, Adam Worth learned early that the best way to succeed was to steal. And steal he did. Following a strict code of honor, Worth won the respect of Victorian society. He also aroused its fear by becoming a chilling phantom, mingling undetected with the upper classes, whose valuables he brazenly stole.

Book Synopsis

From the New York Times bestselling author of Prisoners in the Castle, a dramatic portrait of the master thief of the nineteenth century: Adam Worth

"Fascinating . . . a brisk, lively, colorful biography of an amazing criminal."--The New York Times (Best Books of the Year)

The Victorian era's most infamous and iconic thief, the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes's Professor Moriarty, Adam Worth was known as the Napoleon of crime. Suave, cunning, and fearless, Worth learned early that the best way to succeed was to steal. And steal he did.

Following a strict code of honor, Worth won the respect of Victorian society. He also aroused its fear by becoming a chilling phantom, mingling undetected with the upper classes, whose valuables he brazenly stole. His most celebrated heist: Gainsborough's grand portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire--ancestor of Diana, Princess of Wales--a painting Worth adored and often slept with for twenty years.

With a brilliant gang that included "Piano" Charley, a jewel thief, train robber, and playboy, and "the Scratch" Becker, master forger, Worth secretly ran operations from New York to London, Paris, and South Africa--until betrayal and a Pinkerton man finally brought him down.

The Napoleon of Crime is a grand, dazzling tour into the gaslit underworld of the nineteenth century, and into the doomed genius of a criminal mastermind.

Review Quotes

"Adam Worth, the greatest thief of the nineteenth century, could have furnished the basis of a great novel. No need though: in The Napoleon of Crime, Ben Macintyre has given him a biography that reads like one." --Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Entertaining . . . This true-crime drama is as interesting for the personalities it captures as for the capers it dissects."--Newsday

"A carefully researched and smoothly narrated tale."--The Washington Post

"Compelling."--USA Today

"Giving new meaning to the term 'art appreciation, ' Ben Macintyre's biography of Adam Worth could not be more imaginative, riveting, adventurous, or poignant if it were a work of fiction. Macintyre masterfully shows up the hypocrisy of Victorian society."--Time Out New York

"Engaging."--Atlantic Monthly

"Meticulously researched . . . this finely crafted, often entertaining account ultimately captures its subject."--The Sun [UK]

"Delightful, gripping, touching, exotic, people with highly colorful characters and written with humor and brilliant polish."--James Lord, author of Some Remarkable Men

"I wish, from this day forward, that everything I learn about history could be channeled through Ben Macintyre's brilliant sensibility and elegant voice. The Napoleon of Crime is a joy and a revelation to read."--Robert Olen Butler

"A fascinating tale faultlessly told . . . thoroughly enjoyable."--Eric Zencey, author of Panama

"A good deal more thrilling than most thrillers."--Daily Telegraph [UK]

"A most remarkable and entertaining biography. It is a highly charged thriller, a moving love affair, a dramatic history of the Victorian criminal underworld, a noble tragedy."--Independent on Sunday [UK]

About the Author

Ben Macintyre is a writer-at-large for The Times (UK) and the bestselling author of Agent Sonya, The Spy and the Traitor, A Spy Among Friends, Double Cross, Operation Mincemeat, Agent Zigzag, Rogue Heroes, and Prisoners of the Castle, among other books. Macintyre has also written and presented BBC documentaries of his work.