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The Great Train Robbery
Lavish wealth and appalling poverty live side by side in Victorian London—and Edward Pierce easily navigates both worlds. Rich, handsome, and ingenious, he charms the city's most prominent citizens even as he plots the crime of his century, the daring theft of a fortune in gold. But even Pierce could not predict the consequences of an extraordinary robbery that targets the
...moreMass Market Paperback, 125 pages
Published
October 20th 1979
by Bantam
(first published January 1st 1975)
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"True crime" account of the Great Train Robbery in England in 1855. I really liked the book, more so than the other books by Michael Crichton that I've read in the past.
The book is fairly short, and reads even shorter, as the book maintains a quick pace from start to finish. One aspect of the book that I found particularly enjoyable was the way Crichton wove bits and pieces of information about the subsequent trial of the perpetrators throughout the main plot line to illus...more
The book is fairly short, and reads even shorter, as the book maintains a quick pace from start to finish. One aspect of the book that I found particularly enjoyable was the way Crichton wove bits and pieces of information about the subsequent trial of the perpetrators throughout the main plot line to illus...more
Crime novel on a grand scale, I love how this book covers the plotting and scheming of the robbery. The best comparison I can think of is the ocean eleven, particularly with details like the slang for the jobs typical to this "profession" and the underground roles of people who set these attempts in motion. Its a different spin on the crime with the focus on the criminals and not on those solving the crime. A well written and intriguing suspense novel by a quality author, although this...more
All I'm going to say about Crichton is that he has a knack for what I call the "miracle ending". In one summer I read Congo, Jurassic Park, The Andromeda Strain, Terminal Man, The Great Train Robbery and Sphere. I felt the same about each of them when I finished each.
He's a very good writer with captivating storylines, dead on science, compelling plot and in depth characters, but...I feel like he gets tired of writing the same story or can't properly tie things together a...more
He's a very good writer with captivating storylines, dead on science, compelling plot and in depth characters, but...I feel like he gets tired of writing the same story or can't properly tie things together a...more
The critical acclaim of this book really set me up for disappointment...I went to the library looking for Jurassic Park, wanting an exciting adventure novel, and it was out...but the claims of this being Crichton's best novel intrigued me...I was too stupid to see when it was published to know that it was prior to some of his more popular works.
I possibly didn't enjoy it as much as I had anticipated because it was read in many, many small increments. We were on vacation, and I'd rea...more
I possibly didn't enjoy it as much as I had anticipated because it was read in many, many small increments. We were on vacation, and I'd rea...more
I had no idea Crichton had ever published a piece of historical fiction, but he pulled this one off so well that I might have to check to see if he has any more. This book brilliantly presents all of the most fascinating aspects of Victorian England's culture while unfolding the brilliant but reckless scheme behind a remarkable train burglary. Crichton packaged history into a suspenseful storyline, judiciously choosing historical details that would be tantalizing both to a history major and some...more
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from Amazon: By sweetmolly
This true story set in Victorian London in 1855 is a beauty of a read. With Michael Crichton weaving his magic over the scene and Edward Pierce, mastermind and protagonist, we have an unbeatable combination. The author does wonders describing authentic period scenes and showing us the huge divide between the English middle class and the wretched poor in Victorian times. Edward Pierce wants 12,000 pounds sterling that will be sent by rail to fund the Crimean War. T...more
This true story set in Victorian London in 1855 is a beauty of a read. With Michael Crichton weaving his magic over the scene and Edward Pierce, mastermind and protagonist, we have an unbeatable combination. The author does wonders describing authentic period scenes and showing us the huge divide between the English middle class and the wretched poor in Victorian times. Edward Pierce wants 12,000 pounds sterling that will be sent by rail to fund the Crimean War. T...more
I found The Great Train Robbery at my local Half-Price Books, stuck on the clearance shelves and marked down to a dollar. At that price I'm willing to take a risk on almost any book, no matter how awful it looks or how battered it is; after a quick glance at the synopsis on the back, I dropped the book into my basket.
I am so glad that I did. I've always loved pop-history books and this is one of the better ones I've read. Granted, its 1975 publication date means that it does things a l...more
I am so glad that I did. I've always loved pop-history books and this is one of the better ones I've read. Granted, its 1975 publication date means that it does things a l...more
I’m not usually one for required reading, but this is definitely worth the reading list honor. Set in 19th century London, this novel tells the tale of a group of criminals, masterminded by the smooth Edward Pierce, and their attempt to pull off the greatest crime of all time. Definitely intriguing and exciting, I found myself becoming a fan of the villains and wanting to hear more about how their ultimate crime was planned and performed.
A riveting, realistic tale of a robbery, nowhere faltering in essentially details. Michael Crichton gives you the real deal - the whole works, the planning and the robbery.
It happens in the 1850s Victorian England and Crichton does an awesome job of recreating the society, the location and the people. To dismiss this as a tale of mere thrills, robbery and some villains would be a very narrow view of it. You'll learn more about England's workings, the society back then, the pre...more
It happens in the 1850s Victorian England and Crichton does an awesome job of recreating the society, the location and the people. To dismiss this as a tale of mere thrills, robbery and some villains would be a very narrow view of it. You'll learn more about England's workings, the society back then, the pre...more
I think this was one of Crichton's finest pieces of his life. Unfortunately, this might be due to the fact that the original story was not his creation. If you look up the train robbery, a few names are switched around, but obviously Crichton does so to avoid some confusion that could arise in the story had he kept the original names. He does put the piece together well, and the story keeps you turning page after page in awe. A lot of blurbs on Victorian history are thrown in between paragraphs ...more
What a really great story. While the facts of the real 1855 robbery of gold from a British train are interesting in and of themselves, Crichton makes this about so much more. The details of mid-Victorian London that he adds are fascinating (and I should say made even more fascinating when narrated by Simon Prebble). The author offers great insight into the glaring differences between the classes, the criminal culture that seethed through London, the almost incomprehensible language used by crimi...more
The true story of The Great Train Robbery of 1855 (all caps because it is that famous). This is just a great, fun story. Shades of The Wild Wild West, Oliver Twist and Sherlock Holmes. Michael Crichton takes us on a step-by-step trek through the planning and execution of the greatest train robbery of all time. You will think the cast of characters was picked from a Broadway play – the safecracker; the “judies” (ladies of the evening); the socialite; the chimney sweep (able to crawl in and ou...more
Bibliomantic
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Shelves:
history,
it-s-a-rough-life-out-there-crime
Only about half of this text may be considered as that belonging to a novel. The other half is comprised of a series of lectures, notes, or asides, whatever one wants to call the intermittent commentary on anything and everything historical and otherwise that Crichton thinks the reader needs explained. It’s good that virtually all of them are interesting, many are even fascinating, but somehow I felt it would have been better if they were integrated into the novel proper without it seeming lik...more
Based on factual accounts through excerpts of the trial, Crichton delivers a fast-paced Victorian crime story. I liked how Crichton set up the story from the inception, to the planning, to the mishaps, and eventually to the execution of The Great Train Robbery. Edward Pierce, the mastermind behind The Great Train Robbery of 1855, is a smart and calculating character. As a reader, I found myself rooting for the bad guy, so to say, as Crichton did a fantastic job telling the story through the e...more
Michael Crichton tells the story of the Great Train Robbery in an almost academic fashion. Drawing from court testimony from the (actual) trial of the 1855 Gold Heist, he describes the complicated "pull" as an elegant feat performed by a patient and savvy criminal mastermind. Playfully delivered throughout the story is the message that hard work and determination can pay off in any profession. And rather than injecting social criticism, Crichton, instead, portrays the criminal element ...more
PB - This is an early Crichton (Pub 1975) and is a period piece set in the mid 1800s. It’s a combination of know facts and narrative by the author stitched together in an absorbing telling of a well planned robbery of a shipment of gold to pay the army fighting in Crimea.
There is an extensive use of the vernacular of the lower and criminal class of the period as well as translations. The planning by the principal character, one Edward Pierce is exacting and done over an extended ...more
Jon and I are reading this one together and it's such fun! I love historical novels, and this one is written very well using all the court documents and tons of research of the Victorian times by Michael Crichton. He does a fabulous job meshing all of this together into an interesting novel. I would probably have to rate this PG-13, b/c he writes a bit about very young girls as prostitutes, which was a big part of those days, apparently. Jon has read some and I assume has edited it for my ea...more
Not as interesting as one might suppose. A pretty straightforward tale of the planning, execution and aftermath of the titular heist. Crichton takes the basic facts of the case, substitutes the characters for some right out of Central Casting and tacks on a few movie-friendly moments (the daring key robbery that has to be carried out in 64 seconds, the walk on top of the train). Through it all, the characters use "authentic british criminal slang" for authenticity, a gag that gets tire...more
I'm the only reader in my family, they don't really understand my insatiable hunger for books. This is the only book that was ever recommended by a family member, so this book was already special to me before I even read it.
This book tells the story of The Great Train Robbery that took place in 1855. It reads like an essay; not only The Robbery but also certain events, problems and typical aspects of the Victorian Era are described and placed in their context. However, you need to keep...more
This book tells the story of The Great Train Robbery that took place in 1855. It reads like an essay; not only The Robbery but also certain events, problems and typical aspects of the Victorian Era are described and placed in their context. However, you need to keep...more
Listened to the audiobook version on my roadtrip to Seattle this year. Picked it up when I saw Chrichton’s name – I was only familiar with his later science fiction writings, but thought I would give this one a shot. So glad I did! The book recounts an actual crime in England during the 19th century, which is not remembered for the amount of the theft, but for the sheer impressiveness of the heist, and man it was impressive! Chrichton took the story from court transcripts, and does a fantastic j...more
This is a nice change of pace from other Michael Crichton books like Jurassic Park and Timeline. It removes the sci-fi part of the narrative and replaces it with historical testimony and brings you back in time to Victorian England. This book was a lot of fun to read and had some very well-defined characters. The main burglar, Edward Pierce, is very cunning and humorous - constantly showing us how he can wiggle his way out of almost any situation.
While reading this book it reminded ...more
While reading this book it reminded ...more
This a little different from what I was expected as it covers a real robbery that occurs in 1855 in Victorian England. Crichton takes his material from the court records and papers of the day. Many of the chapters start with some details of the circumstances of the day that explain some part of the story. So I felt like to some degree I got a taste of authentic Victorian England. Crichton does a great job at putting all the material together, telling a story, and giving context to the story.
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This really surprised me, being like nothing I've ever read by Michael Crichton. It was like Ocean's Eleven in Victorian London, and all true. It's really a fascinating story, but it couldn't quite go at a breakneck pace because he had so much historical information in there. But that made it all the more interesting - all true with details from historical sources, and it was all well-organized and well-presented. It only took me a day or so to read, and at times I went from between being bo...more
Crichton's tale of the Great Train Robbery of 1855 is captivating. Though technically historical fiction since he creates dialog and fills in unknowable details, he appears to restrict from doing this where it would affect anything major. As a result, it can be a bit dry but this allows the reader to make her own determinations and suppositions about the people involved rather than the authors. Enough so that it's almost historical rather than historical fiction.
Given I knew nothing ...more
Given I knew nothing ...more
This book seemed like it might be a boring excursion; however, it's Crichton, so I gave it a go. I can see why the subject matter interested him now. As with all Crichton novels, he gives the reader mass quantities of data surrounding the plot and characters. Got quite a history lesson from this one. Our current frames of reference nowadays are miles away from the folks a couple centuries ago. All in all, would recommend this. To top it off, there's also a movie version you can watch after...more
I can't recall when I first read this book, but I was fascinated by both the story and the way it was told. Telling the story from the vantage point of captured criminals and talking about the trial made it seem like a history book and I wondered how it would end. So when the end came with its big twist, I loved it. Thought it was great storytelling. Since then I've had it in my mind to read again - so when I had a Barnes and Noble gift card burning a hole in my pocket, this book made its way to...more
Wow, I didn't think I would love this book, but I did! Crichton really made me feel like this book was a history of the event! It's a fictionalized representation of something that really happened. His story is wonderful, with all the puzzle pieces coming together at the end to form a story that is hard to nitpick.
The characters are easily believed, and the Victorian tidbits thrown in make you feel as though you're in Victorian times, where only lower classes were believed to be real c...more
The characters are easily believed, and the Victorian tidbits thrown in make you feel as though you're in Victorian times, where only lower classes were believed to be real c...more
This is an interesting read on a classic robbery in the mid 1800s. The author (Michael Crichton) is very articulate and describes how much planning went into the crime and to see how it all played out was very interesting, including how the authorities cracked the case. It decribes briefly the origin of Scottland Yard. I recommend this book and I've read just about ever other book written by Michael Crichton. I'm sad he passed away a year or two ago. This is a classic, thanks for the recommendat...more
Stef
rated it
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review of another edition
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review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans of: Michael Crichton, a good heist, 19th century crime novels
This book is a ridiculously entertaining read. I found the description to be kind of bland and so wasn't expecting much when I started reading, but boy, it's a page turner! I had to stop a few times and pinch myself, because I really couldn't fathom how much I was enjoying it.
The story's pretty much the perfect blend of fiction and true events, based upon court testimonies that have been enhanced by Crichton's own sense of creativity, and peppered throughout with tiny tidbits of life i...more
The story's pretty much the perfect blend of fiction and true events, based upon court testimonies that have been enhanced by Crichton's own sense of creativity, and peppered throughout with tiny tidbits of life i...more
A great book actually if only I understand the jargons and slangs they used at the time. Walaupun begitu di buku gue kembali melihat kejeniusan crichton membaca dan merampung sebuah sejarah dan dia jadikan novel kelas atas tapi bisa dibaca kalangan mana pun.
Crichton juga bikin gue jatuh hati banget sama tokoh utama Mr.Edward Pierce yang sebenernya penjahat tapi kayaknya gimanaaa gitu. Cara Crichton menghayal of what happened dalam perencanaan kejahatan terkenal ini bikin lo hampir pe...more
Crichton juga bikin gue jatuh hati banget sama tokoh utama Mr.Edward Pierce yang sebenernya penjahat tapi kayaknya gimanaaa gitu. Cara Crichton menghayal of what happened dalam perencanaan kejahatan terkenal ini bikin lo hampir pe...more
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| THE LISTS: Novel Update | 3 | 7 | Nov 05, 2011 12:43pm | |
| Sociology in this book | 1 | 20 | May 24, 2008 09:33am |
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Michael Crichton was an American author, film producer, film director, and television producer. His books sold over 150 million copies world wide, and among his best-known works were techno-thriller novels, films and television programs. His works were usually based on the action genre and heavily feature technology. Many of his future history novels had medical or scientific underpinnings, reflec...more
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“Having wallowed in a delightful orgy of anti-French sentiment, having deplored and applauded the villains themselves, having relished the foibles of bankers, railwaymen, diplomats, and police, the public was now ready to see its faith restored in the basic soundness of banks, railroads, government, and police.”
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