Gentleman Jewel Thief

In an era when ladies were demure and men courtly, one priceless treasure set England ablaze and incited unimaginable scandal and passion—the Hope Diamond. Heir to an impressive title and fortune, Lord William Townshend, Earl of Harclay, is among the most disreputable rakes in England. Desperately bored by dull heiresses and tedious soirees, he seeks new excitement—with a dangerous scheme to steal the world’s most legendary gemstone from its owner, Thomas Hope. To his surprise, however, it’s not the robbery that sets his blood burning but the alluring lady from whom he pilfers the gem. A string of bad luck has left the fate of Lady Violet Rutledge’s estate entirely in Hope’s scheming hands. So when his prized jewel disappears from around her neck, she has no choice but to track down the villain responsible for the theft. Only Harclay has his sights set on taking more from her than the necklace—and she’s tempted to surrender anything he desires… Now, caught in a thrilling game of secrecy and seduction, Violet must find a way to protect her fortune—and her heart—before she loses both forever…

Georgiana, the daughter of a wealthy family, wants to become a famous detective more than anything. She’s looking forward to this summer’s vacation. Something is sure to happen at the popular resort in Bath where the aristocracy and the wealthy are gathering. Then, amid their endless parties, a famous emerald necklace is stolen! Georgiana, who just before the crime overheard a mysterious conversation, begins investigating at once. But the enigmatic and handsome Marquis of Ashdowne keeps popping up wherever she goes. Now he suddenly wants to be her assistant!

Catch Me If You Can meets The Great Gatsby in this Jazz Age tale of a master jewel thief who charmed celebrities and hobnobbed with New York’s millionaires while planning audacious heists to relieve them of their treasures. A skilled con artist and perhaps one of the most charming, audacious burglars in history, Arthur Barry slipped in and out of the bedrooms of New York’s wealthiest residents, even as his victims slept only inches away. He befriended luminaries such as the Prince of Wales and Harry Houdini and became a folk hero, touted in the press as “the greatest jewel thief who ever lived” and an “aristocrat of crime.” In a span of seven years, Barry stole diamonds, pearls, and other gems worth almost $60 million today. Among his victims were a Rockefeller, an heiress to the Woolworth department store fortune, an oil magnate, Wall Street bigwigs, a top executive of automotive giant General Motors, and a famous polo player. Dean Jobb—hailed by Esquire magazine as “a master of narrative nonfiction”—once again delivers a stylishly told, high-speed ride. A Gentleman and a Thief is also a love story. Barry confessed to dozens of burglaries to protect his wife, Anna Blake (and was the prime suspect in scores of others). Sentenced to a twenty-five-year term, he staged a dramatic prison break when Anna became seriously ill so they could be together for a few more years as fugitives. With dozens of historic images, A Gentleman and a Thief is page-turning escapism that sparkles with insight into our fascination with jewel heists and the suave, clever criminals who pull them off.

The cracking debut of A. J. Raffles, proper English gentleman and jewel thief extraordinaire Sometimes the greatest of partnerships are born in the direst of moments. For Bunny Manders and A. J. Raffles, such a moment comes when a bad night at the baccarat tables threatens to end in suicide. Hundreds of pounds in the red, Bunny grows so desperate that he asks Raffles, a former classmate who captained their public school's cricket team, for help. When Raffles hesitates, Bunny pulls a gun out of his coat pocket and puts it to his head. "I never dreamt you had such stuff in you, Bunny!" says Raffles, a gleam in his eye. A few hours later, he and his old school chum break into a jeweler's shop and steal thousands of pounds' worth of diamonds and gemstones. Disaster averted, adventures begun. In these thrilling stories, E. W. Hornung introduced the world to a duo as gifted at burglary as Sherlock Holmes and Watson are at detection. Full of sophisticated banter, hair-raising close calls, and nefarious schemes, Raffles: The Amateur Cracksman is a masterwork of crime fiction and irrefutable proof that there truly is honor among thieves.

In the famous resort town of Bath, England, a magnificent emerald necklace is stolen. Aspiring detective Lady Georgiana is on the case with her handsome assistant, Lord Ashdowne. Georgiana soon discovers that two of the three suspects are innocent. Her third suspect is none other than Ashdowne himself! Ashdowne is a nobleman who is as smart as he is handsome. And Georgiana can't find his motive. Furthermore, she is starting to fall in love with him after working on the case together. Can she really go after him as the culprit?

Sebastian is a con artist with expensive taste. Unfortunately, he has no hope of living the high-class life he craves without stealing it. So, that's exactly what he's going to do. He might be a pathetic ex-convict by day, but by night, he's London's most notorious jewel thief. All he needs is someone to provide him with food, money, and a place to stay while he plans the heist that will secure his future once and for all. When a friend dares him to seduce Morgan Hollyhock-rich, handsome, and incredibly boring-Sebastian thinks he's found the perfect mark. There's just one problem. He and Morgan have history, and he's unprepared for the flood of emotions when he sees Morgan again for the first time in twenty years. For once, Sebastian wants to be honest about who he is and what he's done. But Morgan has always been a stickler for the rules. If Sebastian opens up about his crimes or his past, Morgan might turn him in, or worse, reject him. And that won't just jeopardize Sebastian's criminal career. After a lifetime of cheating and lying, Sebastian is appalled to realize that he does in fact have a heart to break. A Thief and a Gentleman is a full-length MM novel set in a 1920s universe infused with magic. All the books in the Flos Magicae series can be read as standalones.

"The Amateur Cracksman" by E. W. Hornung is a short story collection. It was the original short story collection by Hornung, featuring his most famous character, A. J. Raffles, a gentleman thief in late Victorian Great Britain. The book contains the tales: The Ideas of March, A Costume Piece, Gentlemen and Players, Le Premier Pas, Wilful Murder, Nine Points of the Law, The Return Match, and The Gift of the Emperor.