Diamond Doris: The True Story of the World's Most Notorious Jewel Thief

by Doris Payne, Zelda Lockhart Narrated by Robin Miles

Overview

In the ebullient spirit of Ocean's 8, The Heist, and Thelma & Louise, a sensational and entertaining memoir of the world's most notorious jewel thief-a woman who defied society's prejudices and norms to carve her own path, stealing from elite jewelers to live her dreams.

Growing up during the Depression in the segregated coal town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, Doris Payne was told her dreams were unattainable for poor black girls like her. Surrounded by people who sought to limit her potential, Doris vowed to turn the tables after the owner of a jewelry store threw her out when a white customer arrived. Neither racism nor poverty would hold her back; she would get what she wanted and help her mother escape an abusive relationship.

Using her southern charm, quick wit, and fascination with magic as her tools, Payne began shoplifting small pieces of jewelry from local stores. Over the course of six decades, her talents grew with each heist. Becoming an expert world-class jewel thief, she daringly pulled off numerous diamond robberies and her Jewish boyfriend fenced the stolen gems to Hollywood celebrities.

Doris's criminal exploits went unsolved well into the 1970s-partly because the stores did not want to admit that they were duped by a black woman. Eventually realizing Doris was using him, her boyfriend turned her in. She was arrested after stealing a diamond ring in Monte Carlo that was valued at more than half a million dollars. But even prison couldn't contain this larger-than-life personality who cleverly used nuns as well as various ruses to help her break out. With her arrest in 2013 in San Diego, Doris's fame skyrocketed when media coverage of her astonishing escapades exploded.

Today, at eighty-seven, Doris, as bold and vibrant as ever, lives in Atlanta, and is celebrated for her glamorous legacy. She sums up her adventurous career best: “It beat being a teacher or a maid.” A rip-roaringly fun and exciting story as captivating and audacious as Catch Me if You Can and Can You Ever Forgive Me?-Diamond Doris is the portrait of a captivating anti-hero who refused to be defined by the prejudices and mores of a hypocritical society.

Editorial Reviews

The New York Times Book Review - Marilyn Stasio

Payne's storytelling voice is easy and intimate…You want to cheer for Payne when she pulls off her first major theft…And by the time she's on a plane flying from Paris to Rome with a $55,000 Van Cleef & Arpels watch in her luggage, she's stolen yet another thing. Your heart.

From the Publisher

Payne’s personal charm is clearly evident on every page. Engaging reading about an elegant modern-day Robin Hood.” — Kirkus Reviews

“This astonishing memoir by a daring and prolific African American jewel thief reads like a thrilling caper novel, even as it reveals hard truths. . . . At the core of this incredible tale, a sassy catch me-if-you-can told from a Black female’s perspective, is a defiant and relentless woman who will do anything to go against what is dictated by her skin color and socioeconomic status.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Payne’s storytelling voice is easy and intimate. . . .You want to cheer for Payne.  . . . She’s stolen yet another thing. Your heart.” — New York Times

 “Payne’s story has made her life irresistible.”  — Atlanta Journal-Constitution

New York Times Book Review

With her smarts, good looks and fabulous taste, Payne might have become a great businesswoman or actress. But she chose to become ‘a master jewel thief of international renown,’ a profession that brilliantly suited her.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Payne’s story has made her life irresistible.”

Kirkus Reviews

Payne’s personal charm is clearly evident on every page, but what makes her book especially provocative is her righteous anger at a (largely white) diamond trade built on the backs of poor Africans and her belief that she was ‘notorious on purpose.’ Engaging reading about an elegant modern-day Robin Hood.”

Booklist (starred review)

This astonishing memoir by a daring and prolific African American jewel thief reads like a thrilling caper novel, even as it reveals hard truths…A defiant and relentless woman who will do anything to go against what is dictated by her skin color and socioeconomic status.”

AudioFile

Narrator Robin Miles enlivens this memoir of Doris Payne, a notorious African–American jewel thief who was active for more than 50 years. Miles rises to the level of Southern charm exhibited by Payne—which is a remarkable feat…Miles’s on-point performance closes any distance between writer and narrator.”

New York Times

Payne’s storytelling voice is easy and intimate. . . .You want to cheer for Payne.  . . . She’s stolen yet another thing. Your heart.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

 “Payne’s story has made her life irresistible.” 

Booklist (starred review)

This astonishing memoir by a daring and prolific African American jewel thief reads like a thrilling caper novel, even as it reveals hard truths. . . . At the core of this incredible tale, a sassy catch me-if-you-can told from a Black female’s perspective, is a defiant and relentless woman who will do anything to go against what is dictated by her skin color and socioeconomic status.

Kirkus Reviews

2019-07-15
An ex-jewel thief's account of her more than 50-year career stealing fabulously expensive gems from some of the world's most exclusive stores.

Born to an African American coal miner father and his Native American wife in the West Virginia community of Slab Fork, Payne grew up with a keen awareness of social injustice. She knew from childhood that "greedy coal mining companies made a ton of money" on poor families by skimping on housing and mine safety. Though her family lived decently, she and her mother sometimes became victims of her father's violence. Determined to stay independent of men and help her mother get away from her father, Payne employed a talent for theft that she accidentally discovered while trying on watches at a jewelry store. She began her criminal career in her early teens stealing food from the market and money from school for her family. As her confidence grew, so did her desire to live in the luxury denied people of color. By her late teens, Payne used her beauty and charm to entice store jewelry store clerks into showing her the expensive jewelry she took with ease. Later, she became involved with a married Jewish businessman who introduced her to the black market underworld and helped her score major thefts all over the country. After his death, Payne set her sights on international heists at stores like Cartier and Bulgari. She served one light jail sentence late in her career for a minor theft, yet neither the FBI nor international police were ever able to definitively prove her guilt. Payne's personal charm is clearly evident on every page, but what makes her book especially provocative is her righteous anger at a (largely white) diamond trade built on the backs of poor Africans and her belief that she was "notorious on purpose."

Engaging reading about an elegant modern-day Robin Hood.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173397683
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/10/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged

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