Queens of the Underworld

By: Caitlin Davies

Narrated by: Annie Aldington

Robin Hood, Dick Turpin, Ronnie Biggs, the Krays....

All have become folk heroes, glamorised and romanticised, even when they killed. But where are their female equivalents? Where are the street robbers, gang leaders, diamond thieves, gold smugglers and bank robbers? Queens of the Underworld reveals the incredible story of female crooks from the 17th century to the present.

From Moll Cutpurse to the Black Boy Alley Ladies, from jewel thief Emily Lawrence to bandit leader Elsie Carey and burglar Zoe Progl, these were charismatic women at the top of their game. But female criminals have long been dismissed as either not 'real women' or not 'real criminals', and in the process their stories have been lost.

©2021 Caitlin Davies (P)2022 Isis Publishing Ltd

Enjoyed it but hoped for more.

This book did an excellent job of disavowing centuries of the notion that these female criminals are just poor pitiful victims of circumstance or emotion or hormones who just couldn't help themselves. The author just wasn't having that crap pedaled anymore. These women are portrayed accurately as independent clever women with agency making opportunities for themselves. The book is mostly about the criminal organization of shoplifting. The 40 elephants being as organized and we'll curated as any mob organization you've seen portrayed. The shoplifting though. That really was the one disappointment. There are female serial killers and pirates (which was too briefly touched on) and the shoplifting stories while excellently told, dominated and got old after a while. Hence the 4 stars. Overall I enjoyed I just wish it would have been more broad spectrum.