The Woman Who Stole Vermeer: The True Story of Rose Dugdale and the Russborough House Art Heist

Today’s Nonfiction post is The Woman Who Stole Vermeer: The True Story of Rose Dugdale and the Russborough House Art Heist by Anthony M. Amore. It is 272 pages long and is published by Pegasus Crime. The cover is a picture of the stolen Vermeer and Dugdale. The intended reader is someone who likes true crime, art history, and memoirs. There is some mild foul language, no sex, and mild violence in this book. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- The extraordinary life and crimes of heiress-turned-revolutionary Rose Dugdale, who in 1974 became the only woman to pull off a major art heist.
In the world of crime, there exists an unusual commonality between those who steal art and those who repeatedly kill: they are almost exclusively male. But, as with all things, there is always an outlier—someone who bucks the trend, defying the reliable profiles and leaving investigators and researchers scratching their heads. In the history of major art heists, that outlier is Rose Dugdale.
Dugdale’s life is singularly notorious. Born into extreme wealth, she abandoned her life as an Oxford-trained PhD and heiress to join the cause of Irish Republicanism. While on the surface she appears to be the British version of Patricia Hearst, she is anything but.
Dugdale ran head-first towards the action, spearheading the first aerial terrorist attack in British history and pulling off the biggest art theft of her time. In 1974, she led a gang into the opulent Russborough House in Ireland and made off with millions in prized paintings, including works by Goya, Gainsborough, and Rubens, as well as Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid by the mysterious master Johannes Vermeer. Dugdale thus became—to this day—the only woman to pull off a major art heist. And as Anthony Amore explores in The Woman Who Stole Vermeer, it’s likely that this was not her only such heist.
The Woman Who Stole Vermeer is Rose Dugdale’s story, from her idyllic upbringing in Devonshire and her presentation to Elizabeth II as a debutante to her university years and her eventual radical lifestyle. Her life of crime and activism is at turns unbelievable and awe-inspiring, and sure to engross readers. 

 

Review- A great memoir of the only woman who planned and pulled off a major art heist. Amore is a good writer and researcher, he does more in this book than just telling the reader about Dugdale or the heist. He breaks out the world that Dugdale grew up in, he explains the political climate that was around her as a child and young adult, and how all these things influenced her. Amore takes the reader from Dugdale’s childhood on a farm in the British countryside to after her heist and jail time. Along the way we learn about Vermeer, the IRA, and the general political scene of post World War 2 Britain. Dugdale is an interesting figure, if difficult to understand and she defies the world by refusing to get into a particular box. I enjoyed this book and I would recommend it. 

 

I give this book a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.