The Great Pearl Heist
London's Greatest Thief and Scotland Yard's Hunt for the World's Most Valuable N ecklace
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4.0 • 20 Ratings
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- $4.99
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- $4.99
Publisher Description
London, 1913. An exquisite strand of pale pink pearls, worth more than the Hope Diamond, has been bought by a Hatton Garden broker, capturing the attention of both jewelers and thieves. In transit to London from Paris, the necklace vanishes without a trace.
Joseph Grizzard, “the King of Fences,” is the leader of a vast gang of thieves in London’s East End. Having risen from the deadly streets to become a wealthy family man, Grizzard still cannot resist the sport of crime, and the pearl necklace proves an irresistible challenge.
Inspector Alfred Ward has joined the brand-new division of the Metropolitan Police known as “detectives.” Having caught some of the great murderers of Victorian London, Ward is now charged with finding the missing pearls and the thief who stole them.
In the spirit of The Great Train Robbery, this is the true story of a psychological cat-and-mouse game. Thoroughly researched and compellingly colorful, The Great Pearl Heist is a gripping narrative account of this little-known, yet extraordinary crime.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Culled from archival research of newspaper accounts, Scotland Yard case files, and memoirs of noted thieves, Crosby (The American Plague) turns back the clock to a winning true crime tale involving two superior minds a very capable detective and a wily gentleman criminal in a jewel heist at the dawn of 20th-century England. Chief Insp. Alfred Ward, of the Detective Bureau of the Metropolitan Police, matched wits with Joseph Grizzard, "the King of Fences," and his motley band of London's East End thieves, over the celebrated pearl necklace, owned by London jeweler Max Mayer and valued at $18 million in today's dollars the most valuable of its kind. In convincing detail Crosby gives us the background of the two combatants, the nuances of the scheme to steal the necklace, the tactical moves of the police and the rogues along the jewel-commerce route between London and Paris. As the culprits of the necklace heist were brought to justice in a highly publicized trial, the author highlights the case's major influence on British crime detection and the legal system, adding a dash of color and realism to a largely forgotten chapter of Edwardian London. Justice is served with the usual Brit low-key smarts and cheeky moves.
