The Napoleon of Crime

Adam Worth develops from a deserter and criminal in Civil War-era America into the organiser of an international network of thieves, forgers and confidence operators. Establishing himself in Victorian London under a respectable identity, he plans robberies across Europe and steals Gainsborough’s portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, concealing it for decades.

Macintyre follows Worth’s pursuit by the Pinkerton agency, his complicated code of loyalty and the reputation that made him a model for Professor Moriarty. The book has also appeared under the regional title The Napoleon of Crime: The Life and Times of Adam Worth, Master Thief.