9781643135298

1643135295

"The extraordinary life and crimes of heiress-turned-revolutionary Rose Dugdale, who in 1974 became the only woman to pull off a major art heist." -- Amazon.com.

"In the world of crime, there exists an unusual commonality between those who steal art and those who repeatedly kill: they are almost exclusively male. But, as with all things, there is always an outlier--someone who bucks the trend, defying the reliable profiles and leaving investigators and researchers scratching their heads. In the history of major art heists, that outlier is Rose Dugdale. Dugdale's life is singularly notorious. Born into extreme wealth, she abandoned her life as an Oxford-trained PhD and heiress to join the cause of Irish Republicanism. While on the surface she appears to be the British version of Patricia Hearst, she is anything but. Dugdale ran head-first towards the action, spearheading the first aerial terrorist attack in British history and pulling off the biggest art theft of her time. In 1974, she led a gang into the opulent Russborough House in Ireland and made off with millions in prized paintings, including works by Goya, Gainsborough, and Rubens, as well as Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid by the mysterious master Johannes Vermeer. Dugdale thus became--to this day--the only woman to pull off a major art heist. And as Anthony Amore explores in The Woman Who Stole Vermeer, it's likely that this was not her only such heist. [This book] is Rose Dugdale's story, from her idyllic upbringing in Devonshire and her presentation to Elizabeth II as a debutante to her university years and her eventual radical lifestyle. Her life of crime and activism is at turns unbelievable and awe-inspiring, and sure to engross readers" -- Provided by publisher.

Introduction: The revolutionary Rose Dugdale

The reluctant debutante

A weird orchid among daisies

A Soixante-Huitard

Graduation

The cause

Wally

Stealing home

Enter Eddie

The bombing at Strabane

The intersection

The guitar player

The French visitor

Proudly and incorruptibly guilty

A new life on the inside

Love and marriage

The afterlife

Epilogue.

Criminals > Great Britain > Biography.

Art thefts > Ireland.

Biography.

True crime stories.

Biographies.