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.