- Hardcover: 304 pages
- Publisher: Harcourt (Aug 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0151003645
- ISBN-13: 978-0151003648
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 16 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,417,915 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The first 2/3 of the book are very strong - Moore does an excellent job bringing early 18th century London to life, and in particular Wild and Sheppard. She does an excellent job portraying the cultural impact of the two - the way Defoe, Hogarth, and John Gay (author of "The Thieves' Opera", best known now through Brecht's "Threpenny Opera") interacted with their world. Her descriptions of Wild and Sheppard's criminal exploits is fascinating (among other things, it's from Wild that we get the term "double-cross").
However, Moore seems to run out of steam about 2/3 of the way through. The last part, dealing with Wild's fall, could have been just as interesting as his rise, but Moore seems rather bored with it - it's dashed off quickly. Conversely, she spends far too much time describing the exact details of the English law-enforcement mechanisms of the time, read like it was stapled in from a research paper.
Ah well, can't have everything - overall a very good read.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
10 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Crime and Punishment
21 Jan 2001
Format:Hardcover
Lucy Moore, in The Thieves' Opera, has explored an interesting topic that takes the reader through the world of London from the slums to, on occasion, the mansions. Using the characters of Jonathan Wild and the folk hero/criminal Jack Sheppard, the author expands the narrative to show the entire world of crime and punishment that existed at this time. Very little seemed, at times, to separate those committing the crimes from those prosecuting the criminals and it is easy to see why Jack Sheppard, with his numerous escapes, could become such a hero in such a corrupt system. The story is told in a way that leads the reader from the beginnings of a system that would lead to crime to the execution of the criminal. The two lead criminals sometimes fall by the wayside in their own story but interest is maintained nonetheless by looking at the larger canvas. An interesting read.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
good, not great.
19 Mar 1999
Format:Hardcover
The first 2/3 of the book are very strong - Moore does an excellent job bringing early 18th century London to life, and in particular Wild and Sheppard. She does an excellent job portraying the cultural impact of the two - the way Defoe, Hogarth, and John Gay (author of "The Thieves' Opera", best known now through Brecht's "Threpenny Opera") interacted with their world. Her descriptions of Wild and Sheppard's criminal exploits is fascinating (among other things, it's from Wild that we get the term "double-cross").
However, Moore seems to run out of steam about 2/3 of the way through. The last part, dealing with Wild's fall, could have been just as interesting as his rise, but Moore seems rather bored with it - it's dashed off quickly. Conversely, she spends far too much time describing the exact details of the English law-enforcement mechanisms of the time, read like it was stapled in from a research paper.
Ah well, can't have everything - overall a very good read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Terrific details of crime in early 1700s London!
20 July 1998
Format:Hardcover
If you enjoyed the recent TV version of Moll Flanders, or if you're a history or true crime buff, this is your book. The author engagingly surveys the amazingly violent and turbulent city that London was in the early 1700s. Vast differences between rich and poor encouraged theft of all kinds and created an underworld that mirrored high society. The writing can be a bit dry at times, but the period details are so compelling it doesn't matter. One example: a man's wig might cost 40 pounds, which was much more than an average worker could earn in a year, in a good year.
Lev Raphael, "Mysteries" columnist, Detroit Free Press
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