Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
The Great Crown Jewels Robbery of 1303: The Extraordinary Story of the First Big Bank Raid in History
by
Paul Doherty
Many people know of Colonel Blood's attempt to steal the Crown Jewels during the reign of Charles II (1660-1685). However, Blood's conspiracy wasn't the first, and certainly not the most successful. In 1303, while Edward I of England was north of the Scottish border trying to crush William Wallace, he'd stashed his treasure safely in Westminster Abbey—behind iron-bound doo...more
Hardcover, 242 pages
Published
October 16th 2005
by Carroll & Graf Publishers
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
49)
What first took me aback about this book was the size of it. It's only about 200 pages long and very light; for some reason I imagined the book would be longer. However, even at 200 pages it feels padded. There are long excerpts of translated witness statements and other tangentially related documents, without much discussion of whose translations they are (I assume the author's, but that is not explicitly mentioned) and the methodology involved in translating them. When it comes to incorporatin...more
Non placet nobis..."It does not please us."
So spoke the mighty Edward I when he discovered some naughty monks had stolen his treasures of the Crown. Since Edward Longshanks was also known as the Hammer of the Scots and had William Wallace gutted (literally), this probably wasn't the king from whom one would want to steal. This book is a very well-defined and literal explanation of the events that shook England in 1303, with the author basically providing the research verbatim on the pages.
What d...more
So spoke the mighty Edward I when he discovered some naughty monks had stolen his treasures of the Crown. Since Edward Longshanks was also known as the Hammer of the Scots and had William Wallace gutted (literally), this probably wasn't the king from whom one would want to steal. This book is a very well-defined and literal explanation of the events that shook England in 1303, with the author basically providing the research verbatim on the pages.
What d...more
An interesting read. Very repetitive but gives good cultural, political and historical background to an interesting and long-forgotten event. Very-well researched! Maps were useful, more would have been better, although that might have breached UK security.
How stupid do you have to be to cross Edward I? A motley assortment of corrupt Benedictine monks, local thugs and their sluts, some greedy goldsmiths and a blackmailed Abbot of Westminster conspired to rob the treasure room of Westminster Abbey in 1303. Once the king, fresh from stomping William Wallace, found out about it, the entire machinery of the royal justice system would be engaged to investigate, prosecute and execute the malefactors. This is a nice case study showing the inner workings...more
This is an excellent book that uses many Medieval primary documents to reconstruct and analyze the robbery.
The author clearly seeks to prove that the citizenry of London played an abetting role and works to show of a long-standing rivalry between London and the kings of England. The background that Doherty presents on the leading figures, not only the convicted criminals, but the jailers and jurymen too, provide a fascinating look at how all of the characters were entwined socially before and a...more
The author clearly seeks to prove that the citizenry of London played an abetting role and works to show of a long-standing rivalry between London and the kings of England. The background that Doherty presents on the leading figures, not only the convicted criminals, but the jailers and jurymen too, provide a fascinating look at how all of the characters were entwined socially before and a...more
I thought the book was ok. It's a true story of how the Crown jewels were stolen. Interesting story but he didn't seem to have tons of info on it, so he padded with other things.
Deadly deadly deadly dull. It fails the 50 page rule dismally. It is "off the shelf" for good.
view 1 comment
May 13, 2013
Marilia Danter
marked it as to-read
Feb 28, 2013
Jewls
marked it as to-read
Feb 09, 2013
Gavin
added it
Feb 08, 2013
Rachel
marked it as to-read
Feb 06, 2013
Libby
marked it as to-read
Jan 29, 2013
Lynntf
marked it as to-read
Jan 06, 2013
Mark
marked it as to-read
Dec 21, 2012
Samantha Cosenza
added it
Dec 10, 2012
Krista the Krazy Kataloguer
marked it as to-read
Shelves:
to-read-true-crime,
to-read-interloan-sd
Dec 05, 2012
Lori
marked it as to-read
Aug 01, 2012
Ambrosia Jefferson
marked it as to-read
May 20, 2012
Stacy Robinson
marked it as to-read
May 17, 2012
Alexis
marked it as to-read
Mar 20, 2012
Kay Vincent
marked it as to-read
Mar 02, 2012
Barry Tomsett
marked it as to-read
Nov 20, 2011
Greg
marked it as to-read
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accuracy | 1 | 1 | Apr 03, 2013 10:03am |
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
He has been published under several pseudonyms: P.C. Doherty, C.L. Grace, Paul Harding, Ann Dukthas, Vanessa Alexander, Michael Clynes and Anna Apostolou but now writes only under his own name.
Paul Doherty was born in Middlesbrough (North-Eastern England) in 1946. He had the...more
More about Paul Doherty...
He has been published under several pseudonyms: P.C. Doherty, C.L. Grace, Paul Harding, Ann Dukthas, Vanessa Alexander, Michael Clynes and Anna Apostolou but now writes only under his own name.
Paul Doherty was born in Middlesbrough (North-Eastern England) in 1946. He had the...more
Share This Book
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
