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11 Harrowhouse
The classic New York Times–bestselling tale of suspense and intrigue that takes readers behind the scenes of the secretive billion-dollar diamond business
From a centuries-old building on a narrow street in the heart of London, a firm known as the System, the world’s most lucrative and least-known cartel, maintains a stranglehold on the world’s diamonds. The company selects the stones a customer can buy and decides how much he must pay for the privilege. One dealer is tired of the game, and so he sets out to destroy the System forever.
With the help of his mistress, Chesser sketches a plan to infiltrate the offices at 11 Harrowhouse—and make off with every diamond the System owns. But this billion-dollar heist is not as simple as it seems, for the System is always watching.
From a centuries-old building on a narrow street in the heart of London, a firm known as the System, the world’s most lucrative and least-known cartel, maintains a stranglehold on the world’s diamonds. The company selects the stones a customer can buy and decides how much he must pay for the privilege. One dealer is tired of the game, and so he sets out to destroy the System forever.
With the help of his mistress, Chesser sketches a plan to infiltrate the offices at 11 Harrowhouse—and make off with every diamond the System owns. But this billion-dollar heist is not as simple as it seems, for the System is always watching.
348 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
44 people are currently reading
202 people want to read
About the author
Gerald A. Browne
18 books16 followersGerald Austin Browne (born 1924, in Connecticut, USA) is an American author and editor.
Browne was raised in Litchfield County, Connecticut. He attended the University of New Mexico, The Sorbonne and Columbia University, where he won several literary awards. His first novel, It's All Zoo, was written while he was living in Paris and working as a fashion photographer. His bestselling novels include 11 Harrowhouse, Green Ice, 19 Purchase Street, Stone 588, and Hot Siberian, several of which have been made into films. He lives in New York with his wife, Merle, a model and actress, as well as the co-author of a novel entitled The Ravishers.
Browne was raised in Litchfield County, Connecticut. He attended the University of New Mexico, The Sorbonne and Columbia University, where he won several literary awards. His first novel, It's All Zoo, was written while he was living in Paris and working as a fashion photographer. His bestselling novels include 11 Harrowhouse, Green Ice, 19 Purchase Street, Stone 588, and Hot Siberian, several of which have been made into films. He lives in New York with his wife, Merle, a model and actress, as well as the co-author of a novel entitled The Ravishers.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
April 13, 2022
In my rating scale, I give this a 2 and 1/2 star rating. I read another of Gerald Browne's novels 'Green Ice', several years ago. Don't remember much about it, other than it was about emeralds and took place somewhere in South America. The book title refers to the address of The Syndicate, an organization that controls the world's diamond market. All diamond purchases are required to go through them. They pretty much act as a cartel, controlling the diamond market and prices. The basic plot is that the protagonist and some associates of his steal most of the diamonds from this organization. The System is loosely based on the De Beers company which controls the majority of the rough diamond distribution in the world.
The book has a fairly interesting plot, I liked the ingenuity the protagonist and his accomplices used to steal the diamonds. I also enjoyed the background into grading diamonds, and diamond mining. I didn't care much for the protagonist, or for that matter any characters in the book. For someone so intelligent about co-devising a method of stealing the diamonds, afterward he seems to make only bad decision after bad decision. This leads to the inevitable conclusion. The book does have a couple of twists at the end I found surprising. Some other circumstances are left up in the air. I guess I like my fiction to have a neatly wrapped conclusion!
I never watched it, but the book was made into a 1974 film starring Charles Grodin and Candice Bergen. Gerald Browne in addition to writing several novels, and winning some literary awards, made his start as a fashion photographer. He's married to an actress/model. Most likely his real life experiences were used as background for his stories and characters. An entertaining read--certainly a movie-worthy ending.
The book has a fairly interesting plot, I liked the ingenuity the protagonist and his accomplices used to steal the diamonds. I also enjoyed the background into grading diamonds, and diamond mining. I didn't care much for the protagonist, or for that matter any characters in the book. For someone so intelligent about co-devising a method of stealing the diamonds, afterward he seems to make only bad decision after bad decision. This leads to the inevitable conclusion. The book does have a couple of twists at the end I found surprising. Some other circumstances are left up in the air. I guess I like my fiction to have a neatly wrapped conclusion!
I never watched it, but the book was made into a 1974 film starring Charles Grodin and Candice Bergen. Gerald Browne in addition to writing several novels, and winning some literary awards, made his start as a fashion photographer. He's married to an actress/model. Most likely his real life experiences were used as background for his stories and characters. An entertaining read--certainly a movie-worthy ending.
February 4, 2015
This novel was first published in 1972 and was made into a film in 1974. Although not particularly dated, this is very much an old fashioned thriller, with exotic locations, a beautiful woman and diamonds at the heart of the story. Chesser is a small time diamond seller. Ten times a year he goes to London and visits The System at 11 Harrowhouse, which has a virtual monopoly on the diamonds sold throughout the world. During each trip, Chesser is given a small packet of diamonds, with no choice of how many he can purchase or the ability to reject what is offered. This obviously rankles and, when he is given an unusually small package, he is resentful at how he has been treated.
Chesser is in love with the beautiful Maren; the young widow of a wealthy man, who has left her his fortune on condition that she does not re-marry. With her wealth so much more than Chesser’s, he feels himself to be in an impossible position. Then billionaire Clyde Massey asks him to acquire an expensive diamond for him and suddenly the chance arrives for him to make some serious money. However, the diamond is stolen, leaving Chesser with no diamond for Massey and no way to pay him back. Of course, Massey has a plan – Chesser should steal The System’s diamonds…
I really enjoyed this novel. It reminded me a little of Lawrence Sanders, or any of those classic crime books of the early Seventies. This is a fun read, with lots of excitement, a sympathetic hero and a fast moving plot. Lastly, I was invited to review this book by the publishers, via NetGalley.
Chesser is in love with the beautiful Maren; the young widow of a wealthy man, who has left her his fortune on condition that she does not re-marry. With her wealth so much more than Chesser’s, he feels himself to be in an impossible position. Then billionaire Clyde Massey asks him to acquire an expensive diamond for him and suddenly the chance arrives for him to make some serious money. However, the diamond is stolen, leaving Chesser with no diamond for Massey and no way to pay him back. Of course, Massey has a plan – Chesser should steal The System’s diamonds…
I really enjoyed this novel. It reminded me a little of Lawrence Sanders, or any of those classic crime books of the early Seventies. This is a fun read, with lots of excitement, a sympathetic hero and a fast moving plot. Lastly, I was invited to review this book by the publishers, via NetGalley.
April 13, 2022
An unexpected surprise, one of those anonymous paperbacks you pick up off a pile of other innocuous paperbacks; like a diamond, it doesn't look like much at first and then you read it and wow! This was not only a solid thriller but it taught me a lot about the diamond industry, such as the HUGE stockpile of diamonds kept by the industry off the market in a storage facility. (Which is the focus of the book, a scheme to steal these diamonds.) It really kept me going until the end, with some excellent plot twists and a surprise ending. Highly recommendable.
October 21, 2014
REVIEW: 11 HARROWHOUSE by Gerald Browne
I surprised myself at how very much I enjoyed reading this book, from the very first page right through to the end. Usually I ignore books with romantic overtones---and the core of this is an obsessive, doomed, love affair--yet I found 11 HARROWHOUSE enormously engaging, a real thriller.
I surprised myself at how very much I enjoyed reading this book, from the very first page right through to the end. Usually I ignore books with romantic overtones---and the core of this is an obsessive, doomed, love affair--yet I found 11 HARROWHOUSE enormously engaging, a real thriller.
August 9, 2016
One of Browne's earliest and best thrillers about the cartel who controls diamonds around the world. Take the package they choose for you or forget it (and be out of business). One man, his woman, and a group defy the system by stealing from them.
Will they succeed or not? Heart-stopping action and suspense.
Will they succeed or not? Heart-stopping action and suspense.
July 8, 2015
(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)
From a centuries-old building on a narrow street in the heart of London, a firm known as the System, the world’s most lucrative and least-known cartel, maintains a stranglehold on the world’s diamonds. The company selects the stones a customer can buy and decides how much he must pay for the privilege. One dealer is tired of the game, and so he sets out to destroy the System forever.
With the help of his mistress, Chesser sketches a plan to infiltrate the offices at 11 Harrowhouse—and make off with every diamond the System owns. But this billion-dollar heist is not as simple as it seems, for the System is always watching.
*2.5 stars*
I have to say I wasn't completely blown away with this novel of the diamond business. It was originally published more than 40 years ago and I think, at times, that is extremely evident.
It isn't a bad book by any stretch - the characters are well-developed, the plot and pacing are good enough...but after reading so many thrillers in the last 20 years, this one just didn't stand the test of time for me.
Paul
ARH
From a centuries-old building on a narrow street in the heart of London, a firm known as the System, the world’s most lucrative and least-known cartel, maintains a stranglehold on the world’s diamonds. The company selects the stones a customer can buy and decides how much he must pay for the privilege. One dealer is tired of the game, and so he sets out to destroy the System forever.
With the help of his mistress, Chesser sketches a plan to infiltrate the offices at 11 Harrowhouse—and make off with every diamond the System owns. But this billion-dollar heist is not as simple as it seems, for the System is always watching.
*2.5 stars*
I have to say I wasn't completely blown away with this novel of the diamond business. It was originally published more than 40 years ago and I think, at times, that is extremely evident.
It isn't a bad book by any stretch - the characters are well-developed, the plot and pacing are good enough...but after reading so many thrillers in the last 20 years, this one just didn't stand the test of time for me.
Paul
ARH
October 22, 2014
I think it is great when a publisher releases older titles for a newer audience. This one was originally published in 1972. Now, forty two years later it can be appreciated my a new generation of readers.
Reading this story, it doesn't feel dated. The action and suspense carries just as well today as I'm sure it did when it was originally released.
This reads like a combination of The Great Gatsby and The French Connection. Containing action, suspense, and a taste of high society this book has all the right pieces.
The main character in this story is the epitome of wrong choices. He glides through his life making snap judgements and quick emotional decisions. You'll be shaking your head every few chapters and you'll keep turning pages to see how this will play out.
Some parts are a tad slow, like Gatsby, so be prepared but stay with it, the end is well worth it.
Reading this story, it doesn't feel dated. The action and suspense carries just as well today as I'm sure it did when it was originally released.
This reads like a combination of The Great Gatsby and The French Connection. Containing action, suspense, and a taste of high society this book has all the right pieces.
The main character in this story is the epitome of wrong choices. He glides through his life making snap judgements and quick emotional decisions. You'll be shaking your head every few chapters and you'll keep turning pages to see how this will play out.
Some parts are a tad slow, like Gatsby, so be prepared but stay with it, the end is well worth it.
December 8, 2020
This book, written in 1972, did not catch me at first. I thought it was overwritten with illogical jumps in point of view and inconsistencies. However, about fifty pages in I got hooked. I’m not sure I ever related to the main characters, but it didn’t seem to make much difference because I really wanted to know what was going to happen next and I wanted the characters to win, whether I liked them or not. A rather lazy diamond merchant and his self-involved rich girl friend, enter into a plot to steal the entire inventory of The System, an organization in London that controlled all diamond distribution in the world. It seemed an impossible task and I had to know how they were going to do it. I can’t say more about the twists without spoilers, but take my word for it they are well done, and I ended up really enjoying the book and ordering the movie version, compelled to know how it was treated on screen.
August 23, 2024
Why? Oh why did I read this novel?
I was hooked up 40% down, it is a very interesting story. But when the actual heist started at around 55% and it was ended by 65%, I was surprised. I feared that we were going the James Hadley Chase way. But then I saw that the protagonist had his own plan, so I thought there could be another level of heist here. But then the story really went down. It started explaining what they do, how the live every day, which island hey visit, what they eat, and this goes on and on and on. And then the end! And what an end! I totally hated it.
Audiobook narration is drab, it is read in reading telegram manner, as the protagonist himself says about Massi. The narrator has 4 different ways of reading a sentence, each on emphasising on one or two words in each sentence. Thats it! No emotions, no variations, no changes in pitch, tone or tempo. It's good that the story is very good, it keeps you hooked. Otherwise I would have dropped the book.
But I am not going to read this book again, I shouldn'd have read it in the first place. Therefore, I am also not going to recommend it to anyone else as well. If you like James Hadely Chase kind of heist stories, read this one. But dont blame me if you dislike it.
I was hooked up 40% down, it is a very interesting story. But when the actual heist started at around 55% and it was ended by 65%, I was surprised. I feared that we were going the James Hadley Chase way. But then I saw that the protagonist had his own plan, so I thought there could be another level of heist here. But then the story really went down. It started explaining what they do, how the live every day, which island hey visit, what they eat, and this goes on and on and on. And then the end! And what an end! I totally hated it.
Audiobook narration is drab, it is read in reading telegram manner, as the protagonist himself says about Massi. The narrator has 4 different ways of reading a sentence, each on emphasising on one or two words in each sentence. Thats it! No emotions, no variations, no changes in pitch, tone or tempo. It's good that the story is very good, it keeps you hooked. Otherwise I would have dropped the book.
But I am not going to read this book again, I shouldn'd have read it in the first place. Therefore, I am also not going to recommend it to anyone else as well. If you like James Hadely Chase kind of heist stories, read this one. But dont blame me if you dislike it.
March 23, 2022
A well written behind the scenes look at the diamond industry dominated by an entity known as The System. A self-centered, pleasure seeking couple engineer an impossible heist of the organization's diamond supply at the behest of an elderly billionaire.
A cascade of unforseen consequences befall them, culminating in a disappointing deus ex machina ending, triggered by a Black Liberation group.The reader is frequently exposed to sexual voyeurism, dips into the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and immersion in life-threatening violence.
In the end, the haunting question: was reading this novel essentially a waste of time?
A cascade of unforseen consequences befall them, culminating in a disappointing deus ex machina ending, triggered by a Black Liberation group.The reader is frequently exposed to sexual voyeurism, dips into the lifestyles of the rich and famous, and immersion in life-threatening violence.
In the end, the haunting question: was reading this novel essentially a waste of time?
September 27, 2020
This is the 3rd book I've read by Gerald A Browne and I liked it almost as much as Green Ice. It is similar to the other two, simply because it is about getting the Jewels. A Diamond seller, gets doled out a packet of diamonds from time to time to sell and is disgruntled at the miniscule amounts given until he gets an order by a wealthy interested party. The plot thickens when our wealthy man takes a liking to his wife and sets them up to rob "The System" from all their diamonds. I now see they made a movie of it, so I'll have to check it out. A fun book!
May 16, 2019
Letto, se ricordo bene, alla fine degli anni settanta, mi colpì per la bellezza di questa storia che è si di due fantastici ladri, ma è soprattutto una bella storia d'amore. Forse nessuna fortezza è inespugnabile, forse l'ingegno umano è in grado di superare ogni ostacolo. Questo bellissimo romanzo lo dimostra.
March 7, 2023
Not as good as Stone 588, very unsatisfying ending. Characters, including protagonist, were not as likeable as Stone 588, but it is a decent action/adventure/crime caper. These are fun reads when you just need a book that just flows by as a distraction. Now, off to the library to see if they have 19 Purchase Street by this author.
July 31, 2019
I am unable to finish this book. I gave up on it.
Want to read
January 3, 2020Found this book in BookPage Jan 2020.
June 16, 2020
Read in 1973. Crime novel.
April 11, 2021
Kind of silly ("The System") and dull. I didn't find myself caring about any of the characters, or about what was happening.
September 21, 2023
Just a bit dull for me. It was probably better in the time period when it was written. Did not finish.
November 11, 2025
Good story, weird ending
September 12, 2016
A mystery/suspense crime novel about the diamond industry and a plan to steal the inventory and crash prices. Loosely based on the workings of the De Beers Cartel. It's set in 1970 England however other than the absence of mobile phones/technology you can't really tell it takes place nearly have a century ago.
I found it was quite slow to get moving and I wasn't particularly enthralled at all. However once the actual robbery took place and the getaway and double crossing started happening it picked up and became rather interesting.
Bit disappointing overall, had all the right ingredients for a fantastic story just didn't quite come together.
I found it was quite slow to get moving and I wasn't particularly enthralled at all. However once the actual robbery took place and the getaway and double crossing started happening it picked up and became rather interesting.
Bit disappointing overall, had all the right ingredients for a fantastic story just didn't quite come together.
October 14, 2014
Chesser is a small time diamond dealer and along with his love Maren take us thru a love story adventure that you must read. This story is so well put together that you will find yourself reading sentenses and paragraphs over and over because they are so lovely. And the double cross is too much to beleive. What a story
RMC
RMC
September 4, 2015
The diamonds from the world's largest wholesaler are stolen. A story of thievery, deceit, murder, gluttony, infidelity, revolution, and treachery. The story ends badly for most of the characters. Dang British writers!
January 26, 2016
A revisit
I can't remember how long ago I first read this book but I knew, eventually I would come back. I waited for it to become a Kindle book. It was worth the wait. I like the author and his stories. Hope to read the rest of his books on Kindle. Thank you Amazon.
I can't remember how long ago I first read this book but I knew, eventually I would come back. I waited for it to become a Kindle book. It was worth the wait. I like the author and his stories. Hope to read the rest of his books on Kindle. Thank you Amazon.
August 16, 2008
One of my favorite heist/mystery/thriller type books ever!
Want to read
September 2, 2008hardcover
May 5, 2010
A disgruntled diamond broker sees a risky opportunity to get
even with his supplier. Pretty good story but the ending stinks
even with his supplier. Pretty good story but the ending stinks
February 10, 2015
A beautiful couple, very much in love and very much in over their heads in the biggest diamond heist ever conceived.
July 14, 2015
Good mystery. Wasn't expecting much when I took this book on for reviews from some of the other reviews that I had seen. And with saying that, I was pretty impressed with this book!
October 10, 2015
I enjoyed this book immensely but was really annoyed by the ending. I don't like storylines that introduce new information at the end of a book. The book ends abruptly and awkwardly.
April 3, 2016
I didn't like the style of writing and the ending was way off.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews