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.
