Status Updates From The Great Train Robbery

He worked for the railway and he put his shipment on the train and had it insured. When it showed up, the case was empty and everyone was up in arms about the theft. It could not be overlooked because of the insurers. The guard got fired but was anonymously paid a stipend for the rest of his life. After Sir John died, it came out that he shipped an empty box.

Captain John Alderson (sp) was knighted in 1815 based on his heroism during Waterloo. He lived a respectable life based on all accounts but he did have a taste for gambling. He did not see it as a moral failing because he never gambled for money. He gambled for things. In 1855, he lost against a guy he despised and he owed the guy a bottle of 12yo Madeira and that burned his chaps. He promised to ship it by train.

Florence Nightingale is an excellent example. During the Crimean War, the general thought she was a nuisance so he cut off her food supply. She didn’t put up a fuss because she expected it! She found her own resources and nobody didn’t think anything of it. It was how you played the game. The author shares a humorous example that affected Pierce et al but I don’t think it is real, but it is entertaining.

Ch. 38 Victorians were concerned about blue-collar crime but a lot of white-collar crime was overlooked. They believed the blue-collar crime was born out of ignorance and poverty. They tolerated white-collar crime, but for reasons we might not understand. First, accounting did not have standard processes and has more room for creative thinking. Think tax loopholes on steroids. Second, they approved of sharp dealing.

Ch. 37 Pierce and Miriam congratulate themselves for the Scotland Yard detectives were spotted taking a train to Greenwich at the most convenient time for their operation. He warns her that anything can go wrong and it did!

Ch. 36 The pawn broker pays a visit to Scotland Yards and makes a fast buck by spilling what he knows in bits and pieces. The “Miltonians” (Scotland Yard detectives) throw about various ideas. They finally decide to use deductive reasoning and determine that Sims (Pierce’s real name?) wants to go after payday money for a company working on the transatlantic cable. LOVE IT. They go to Greenwich (ahem, Zulu time).

He puts his acting skills to good use, acting so nervous that he almost bolted at one point. He’s asking for five pistols and, in the conversation, lets details about timing and location out as if by accident. They make an agreement and then Pierce goes to great length to shake a tail on the way home. He even sees “She Stoops to Conquer.” LOVE IT! He reaches home in the wee hourse of the morning and is not tracked.

Ch. 35 Pierce has many different kinds of informants and he chooses a pawn shop. Even when people with money struggled to make ends meet, they could hock something, take it back for an event, and hock it again. Many did this sort of thing until the financial crisis eased up. He dresses well but uses a rough accent to make it seem like he worked to move up in life and has fallen on hard times.

Ch. 34 Willie met his maker in a dark stairwell. His killer took his money and kids stole his clothing. The whole thing is sad because Willie would probably be called special needs today. The kids are doing what they do to survive. Based on what I see in the world today, it’s not a black mark on Victorians. It’s a black mark on humanity.

The same is true for cops and robbers. We are given the history of Scotland Yard. Milton lived there while working for Oliver Cromwell! If there were no robbers, we would not need cops. In the story and IRL, the police at Scotland Yard did call in Willie and, because of the compartmentalized information, he could only tell them vague things. They decide to call him in again.

Later he meets up with Agar and they realize that the two of them are being followed and he only has days to develop a new plan. He begins to ponder.

Ch. 33 Often when there are two opposing groups, there can be some interplay that benefits both. The temperance movement bought pubs but did not serve alcohol. Pubs brought in church music to attract those who could lean toward temperance.

Ch. This reminds me of S&S and Pierce is Willoughby and Elizabeth is Marianne. They bump into each accidentally and he passes off some smooth lies and it’s all so deliciously awkward. He tells her that he sent her a letter from Paris and he acts surprised at hearing she never received it. Then he does some masterful acting when he tells her he assumed she did not care for him and he is engaged to a French woman.

We also get great tidbits about the construction of the crystal palace, including the problem of the sparrows.

Ch. 31 There is no honor among thieves. Pierce gets a formal letter from Willie, and clearly, he is being influenced by someone. They meet at the crystal palace, and Pierce gives him money and a warning.

Ch. 30 Miss Miriam did her job well in posing as the wife of an invalid who wants to buy a large, secure safe for a month-long stay during the summer. She finds out what she needed to know (the reason for the overhaul of the safes) and finds a legitimate reason to leave (it will take a month to build a safe and she needs one now).

Ch. 29 Part 3 begins with a series of setbacks and it’s a wonder they robbed the train. They got the dates confused. Then the czar up and dies and the whole need for the gold was thrown into doubt. British soldiers were still there but it appears to be winding down. Then the safes go into overhaul and they are in shock! Whoever heard of overhauling a safe? Pierce decides to put a woman on the case.

Ch. 28 Two things of note. The guard is given the code but it’s not the actual robbery. Agar tests the keys to make sure they work. Another interesting thing is the presence of a leopard. The public has been gripped about stories of man-eating leopards in India a caged leopard is being taken to a lady in the countryside. Coincidence? I think not.