The Napoleon of Crime: The Life and Times of Adam Worth, the Real Moriarty

Evoking all the moral ambiguity of the Victorian Era, Macintyre offers an intriguing portrait of its most accomplished criminal. Adam Worth, alias Henry Raymond (a name appropriated from the recently deceased founder and editor of the "New York Times") masterminded a series of crimes on three continents, rarely participating in them directly and deploring the use of weapons as a failure of the intellect. While his ill-gotten... Read Full Review

A gentleman burglar thumbs his nose at 'impregnable security' in a gallery and steals a priceless portrait of a scandalous woman by literally standing on the shoulders of a giant; then falls in love with the painting and 'elopes' with it for the next twenty years, eventually collecting the award for its return (in disguise) with the help of the detective who first hunted, then befriended, him.This is the stuff of fiction?... Read Full Review

Adam Worth, the inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional evil mastermind Moriaty, makes a meaty subject for a book under any circumstances. From manager of gaming Hells and forger to diamond and art thief - his criminal career is breath-takingly audacious.But that isn't where it ends, the story of Adam Worth includes a mystery of a famously stolen portrait, a determined Pinkerton detective and a tale which takes... Read Full Review

THE NAPOLEON OF CRIME is a true page-turner and written in the hilarious dry wit of a British journalist. I found myself wanting to meet the characters in this stranger-than-fiction true crime story, and actually liking the master thief himself. This would make an excellent movie, possibly with Anthony Hopkins as Adam Worth?

Written with dry British humor, the story of Adam Worth, master criminal, comes to life. And what a life it is! But. apparently, source material was rare and therefore only a few episodes of a criminal nature could be told. In toto, the author just repeats that Worth was a criminal and make sacks of money. To fill the book, he drags the Duchess of Devonshire around a bit too much. A comparison between her and her direct descendant,... Read Full Review