The Thieves' Opera: The Mesmerizing Story of Two Notorious Criminals in Eighteenth-Century London

by Lucy Moore

A gem, with clear insights into popular eighteenth-century social history - Tatler

Georgian London was a city of contrasts: its bourgeois elegance and refinement thrived amidst filth and foul smells, decadence and depravity. Crime was everywhere -- from pickpockets and prostitutes in the center city to plundering highwaymen on the outskirts.

Jonathan Wild came to dominate 18th-century London's criminal underworld in part by orchestrating the theft of personal goods and then offering them back to their rightful owners - at a price. The reputation and credibility of this self-styled 'Thief-Taker General' was such that in 1720 the government's Privy Council sought his advice on how to deal with the rising crime rate in England's capital city.

Jack Sheppard, on the other hand, was the archetypal idle apprentice, who spent his free time drinking, gambling, and whoring in London's Covent Garden, eventually falling into a life of petty crime. When Sheppard refused to work for Wild (as every other thief was forced to do), Wild had him arrested, tried, and convicted. But his extraordinary ability to escape from prison -- repeatedly and against striking odds - made Jack Sheppard a celebrated folk hero.

As popular opinion - and with it, money and power - swayed from the thief-taker to the housebreaker, tension between the two spiraled to a dramatic climax.

The Thieves' Opera is an eminently readable work of popular history that blends scholarship with the best of the storyteller's art.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, True Crime, 18th Century, Biography, London, British Literature

304 pages, Hardcover

First published November 6, 1997

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Lucy Moore was born in 1970 and educated in Britain and the United States before reading history at Edinburgh University. She is the editor of Con Men and Cutpurses: Scenes from the Hogarthian Underworld, and author of the critically acclaimed The Thieves Opera: The Remarkable Lives and Deaths of Jonathan Wild, Thief-Taker, and Jack Sheppard, House-Breaker (Viking 1996) as well as Amphibious Thing: the Life of a Georgian Rake (Viking 2000) and Maharanis: The Lives and Times of Three Generations of Indian Princesses (Viking 2004). Maharanis has been reprinted six times, was an Evening Standard bestseller, and the top selling non-fiction title in WH Smith on paperback publication in summer 2005.

Lucy is a regular book reviewer for the Observer and the Sunday Times. In April 2001, she was voted one of the 'Top Twenty Young Writers in Britain' by the Independent on Sunday and in the 'Writers' section of the New Statesman's 'Best of Young British' issue.

Television presenter work includes Nelson for Great Britons (BBC) and Kings in Waiting: Edward VII (BBC) plus a number of talking head appearances.

Reviews

[Nelson · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit of a mess. This is a general history informed by cannibalizing secondary works and, occasionally, the primary source works on which they are based. The decision to organize a narrative of London's early eighteenth-century underworld around the life of Jonathan Wild probably brought a gleam to an editor's eye. To the reader, however, it brings a very choppy narrative history whose chapters frequently repeat nuggets of information contained in other chapters. Furthermore, Wild's era of predominance was in fact rather brief. So snippets of information from the seventeenth century or anything after the first quarter of the eighteenth century turn out, often, to be anachronistic. There is a shaky grasp of larger political history as well which often crops up in misidentifications or mild misappropriations of information around the figure of Sir Robert Walpole. The history uncritically uses a variety of sources, many of which at the time went to exorbitant lengths to draw spurious connections for political purposes. In short, this is aimed at a general readership largely unfamiliar with the nuances of eighteenth-century politics or life in London. As such, it can't really be used even for undergraduates, since there are problems with some of the sourcing (and the notes are a mess). The level of writing can be problematic at times too. While there are some elegantly crafted sentences, there are also incredibly turgid recapitulations of trials or current events that are hard to parse on a single reading. Recommended only for those who want to have to further truck with the topics covered here than a surface history like this will permit. If you read Moll Flanders or The Beggars Opera seriously, you already will have gone beyond this text's remit.

[Sally · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very poorly written. The interesting history is hard to sort out among her random thoughts.

[Lucinda Elliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four and a half stars, rounded up to five for a very stimulating work.
Four and a half stars for a very readable and intriguing treatment of the intertwined lives of the roguish young housebreaker and sometime highwayman, the ingenious gaol breaker Jack Shappard and his nemesis, the rebarbative hypocrite the all powerful thief taker Jonathan Wild.
The historical facts of the lives of these two men, the cant taking mischievous rogue apprentice Jack Sheppard and the smooth talking, socially ambitious and seemingly psychopathic Wild and how they fitted into various aspects of eighteenth century English - and specifically, London life are explored; general themes regarding povety, social change, corruption, the savagery of the penal code and the horrific conditions of prsions, especially Newgate, are all examined.
There have been a couple of slighting reviews of this work online. I think they are unfair. The impression they give is deceptive and I would like to emphasize that while I am not ignorant of the history of the early eighteenth century I learnt several obscure facts in this work. True, it does not have an index. An index is a useful but expensive extra for an academic work, and I have often found that they are incomplete anyway.

[Bob Aarhus · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this effort has demonstrated its popularity in making the thieves of London's early 18th century accessible, anyone who has spent time studying this particular part of history will realize "The Thieves Opera" is a largely derivative work, owing its existence to a host of previous works from which it borrows -- sometimes verbatim -- quite liberally. Furthermore, the organization of the book is choppy, unable to choose between a chronological narrative of the lives of Jack Sheppard and Johnathan Wild, and a commentary on the various aspects of English life during this wild and unpredictable time. It does, however, demonstrate the inherent weakness of the "thief-taking" legislation that brought Wild his fame, fortune, and ultimate execution.

[Lee Langford · Rating 4 out of 5]

An in depth study of Crime and Criminals in the Georgian-era of British History, focusing upon the life-and-crimes of Thief-Taker General (and, paradoxically, Crime-Boss) Jonathan Wild, and Burglar and Prison-Escapologist, Jack Sheppard. Together with tales of notorious Pirates and Highwaymen of the day - as well as details of William Hogarth's moralistic paintings and etchings, illustrated throughout, such as of 'A Rake's Progress', 'A Harlot's Progress', and 'Beer Street and Gin Lane' - this is a must-book, recommended to all those interested in the history of crime.

[Walt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lucy Moore did a very thorough job discussing the rise of the thief takers. She provides an excellent description of life in London and the basic social problems of society at that time. However, the text did become seemingly repetitive and dull. Had she not gone into such unnecessary detail, I would have given her a fourth star.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A biography of 18th century villains Jonathan Wild and Jack Sheppard. I've come across references to these two in other books about the era but this is the first proper study of them I've come across. It was interesting although some of the historical detail didn't seem to correspond with what I've read before.

[MH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moore uses the lives of the dashing thief Jack Shepherd and corrupt thief-taker Jonathan Wild (John Gay's models for MacHeath and Peachum in The Beggar's Opera) to give a street-level history of crime and class in Georgian London. Deeply researched and enthusiastically written, full of interesting facts and moments, it's a compelling and eminently readable history.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Thieves' Opera is a very well-written, interesting account of the villains and robbers that populated sections of London during the 17th century. It reads more like a story than a history book and yet it is still very informative.

[Christopher Probert]

A fascinating look into the Georgian underworld. Immensely readable,Jonathan Wild and Jack Sheppard's exploits are shown in all their nefarious ingenuity. I wondered why I hadn't heard of these folk heroes before reading this. A great book to read and to re-read.

[JFH · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read

As a reader of fact and fiction,this factual book is a quick and easy flowing read. A must read,truly enjoyed reading it. May re read it ..
Time to find more historic books to enjoy reading

[Scott Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read

A must read for anyone interested the period, life and times of 18th century london - insightful coverage of the period, people, law and outlook.

[Allison Thurman]

Library

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting history of two famous (infamous) men from the early 18th century. Gives a good flavour of the period.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a bit drier than I was anticipating, but intriguing nonetheless, and I'm making my way through it.

[Niffer · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book that gives the reader a good sense of the time period and the motivations of the characters. I very much enjoyed it.

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

Currently free on Amazon. For how long, I know not.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining

[Towton1461 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid recounting of part of the lives of Wild and Shepherd, which also gives a good insight into life in the 18th century. Does jump around a bit from topic to topic but on the whole well written and a good informative read.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dense with information and very well researched. It was fascinating to see two famous criminals compared in tempermant, methodology, goals, etc. Plus it was all set in the social and historical background and that helped in explaining approaches and results.

[Tomás Achí Picado · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

A fun, light read that greatly encompasses and proyecta the lives of the eighteenth century London era populace. Definetly recommended.

[Chiefdonkey Bradey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Corruption, as well as brightness, falls from the air

[Sheri Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the novel or story I was looking for but more of a comparison essay of Jonathan Wild and Jack Sheppard.

[Donna Brown]

If you would like to view pictures of the 1800s and get more historical information, this is the book for you.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The subject was interesting but the book could have used another edit to cut out repetition and tighten the timeline.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reads like a term paper.

[Alex Wilson]

I haven't read it yet