The Great Train Robbery (novel)
First edition cover
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| Author | Michael Crichton |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre |
Historical novel, Crime novel |
| Publisher | Knopf |
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Publication date
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May 1975 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 266 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 1175916 |
| 813/.5/4 | |
| LC Class | PZ4.C9178 Gr PS3553.R48 |
| Preceded by | The Terminal Man |
| Followed by | Eaters of the Dead |
The Great Train Robbery is a bestselling 1975 historical novel written by Michael Crichton. Originally published in the USA by Alfred A. Knopf (then, a division of Random House), it is currently published by Avon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. It is the story of the Great Gold Robbery of 1855, a massive gold heist, which takes place on a train travelling through Victorian-era England on 22 May 1855. Most of the book takes place in London.
In 1854, Edward Pierce, a charismatic and affluent "cracksman" or master thief, makes plans to steal a shipment of gold worth more than twenty five thousand pounds being transported monthly from London to the Crimean War front. He faces enormous obstacles as the bank has taken strict precautions, including locking the gold in two heavy safes, each of which has two locks, thus requiring a total of four keys to open. He recruits Robert Agar, a "screwsman" or specialist in copying keys, as an accomplice.
To ensure the success of his bold plan, Pierce spends more than a year in preparation. His first steps are fairly easy as he uses his wealth and social contacts to procure information on the security measures and locations of the keys. The bank's president, Edgar Trent, and its general manager, Henry Fowler, each possess a key. The other two are locked in a cabinet at the offices of the South Eastern Railway at the London Bridge railroad terminus.
Pierce's first target is the key held by Edgar Trent. The attempt to take Trent's key is difficult, as Pierce has no clues or prior information on his habits. Through painstaking surveillance, conversations with bank employees and a deliberately bungled pickpocketing attempt, Pierce deduces that Trent's key is kept at his mansion, but is still unable to learn the exact location. After learning that Trent is keen on ratting (a blood sport involving the betting on dogs killing rats), Pierce succeeds in becoming acquainted with the man and while visiting the Trent mansion feigns a romantic interest in Elizabeth Trent, Trent's plain twenty-nine-year-old daughter, who has had few suitors. Edward pretends to court Elizabeth and learns that the key is most likely located in the basement wine cellar. With the assistance of his longtime mistress, known only as "Miss Miriam" (who is also an actress), and his loyal associate, a buck cabby named Barlow, Pierce and Agar successfully break into Trent's home by night and make a wax copy of the key after locating it in the wine cellar.
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