Masters of Crime H/C

This fascinating volume reveals the real men - and women - behind some of the most infamous villains ever to appear in fiction. Fagin, Professor Moriarty, Moll Cut-Purse and the notorious 'cracksman' A. J. Raffles - all were rooted in the lives and deaths of a litany of real-life criminals, agitators and activists. This book brings together their stories for the first time, and shows how they were woven into fiction by some of Britain's greatest writers, including Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle. Containing prison escapes, sensational trials, daring art thefts, vicious attacks, Chinese gangs, cross-dressing pimps, roaring boys, policemen, astronomers and whores, Masters of Crime explores both the real underworld of British crime history, and its fictional counterparts. It will delight fans of true crime and crime fiction alike.