The very model of a major Victorian criminal - indeed, the original
of Sherlock Holmes's nemesis, Professor Moriarty - is the subject
of a true crime tale by Macintyre, Paris bureau chief for the Times
of London (Forgotten Fatherland, 1992). Adam Worth, an American of
German-Jewish stock, emigrated to England fresh from Civil War
"bounty jumping" (by which enterprise he collected multiple Union
army enlistment bonuses by deserting and re-upping under assumed
names). Like many another alluring scalawag, he transformed
himself, under the alias "Raymond," into a man of considerable
means and social standing. The diminutive Worth was a gentleman,
complete with upper-crust accent and muttonchop whiskers. He was an
extravagant, clever crook as well. The fearless brains of organized
crime, he eschewed violence and firearms. With the enlistment of
safecrackers, forgers, bank robbers, feckless felons, and bumbling
brigands who, in a later day, might have been labeled
"Runyonesque," Worth's lawbreaking dominion covered all of Europe
and both sides of the Atlantic. Branching out, he even ran a
prototypical gangsters' nightclub in Paris. The cast of the
picaresque story includes an avaricious coquette, a blundering
Scotland Yard sleuth, and a private detective as determined and
untiring as Javert. The detective, as corpulent as Holmes was thin,
was William Pinkerton, a.k.a. "the Eye." Worth's most important
score was Gainsborough's fabulous portrait of the fetching duchess
of Devonshire. Entranced by the painting or, perhaps, by its
subject, Worth kept the swag with him for two decades. It was
Pinkerton, upon Worth's fall, who negotiated the picture's return -
for a reward paid to Worth. The detective and the master criminal
ended as friends. A delightful Victorian tale of colorful
miscreants and dissembling rogues, told in engaging style. (Kirkus
Reviews)
The rumbustious true story of the Victorian master thief who was
the model for Conan Doyle's Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes' arch-rival.
From the bestselling author of 'Operation Mincemeat' and 'Agent
Zigzag'. Adam Worth was the greatest master criminal of Victorian
times. Abjuring violence and setting himself up as a perfectly
respectable gentleman, he became the ringleader for the largest
criminal network in the world and the model for Conan Doyle's evil
genius, Moriarty. At the height of his powers, he stole
Gainsborough's famous portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire,
then the world's most valuable painting, from its London showroom.
The duchess became his constant companion, the symbol and substance
of his achievements. At the end of his career, he returned the
painting, having gained nothing material from its theft. Worth's
Sherlock Holmes was William Pinkerton, founder of America's first
and greatest detective agency. Their parallel lives form the basis
for this extraordinary book, which opens a window on the seedy
Victorian underworld, wittily exposing society's hypocrisy and
double standards in a storytelling tour de force.
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