The Woman Who Stole Vermeer: The True Story of Rose Dugdale and the Russborough House Art Heist

by Anthony M. Amore

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781643135298
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	11/10/2020
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	18,749
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Anthony Amore is Director of Security and Chief Investigator at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, where he is charged with the ongoing efforts to recover thirteen works of art stolen from the museum on March 18, 1990. Additionally, he is the co-author of Stealing Rembrandts (a Wall Street Journal bestseller) and author of The Art of the Con (a New York Times bestseller) and provides analysis on issues related to security and terrorism for the BBC, NBC News, NPR, CNN, FOX, and others. He lives in Boston, MA. Learn more at www.anthonyamore.com.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Revolutionary Rose Dugdale 1

1 The Reluctant Debutante 11

2 A Weird Orchid Among Daisies 23

3 A Soixante-Huitard 37

4 Graduation 51

5 The Cause 59

6 Wally 75

7 Stealing Home 91

8 Enter Eddie 109

9 The Bombing at Strabane 117

10 The Intersection 129

11 The Guitar Player 139

12 The French Visitor 159

13 Proudly and Incorruptibly Guilty 179

14 A New Life on the Inside 199

15 Love and Marriage 213

16 The Afterlife 225

Epilogue 231

Author's Note 235

Bibliography 237

Endnotes 241

Acknowledgments 261

Editorial Reviews

09/07/2020

Amore (The Art of the Con) charts in this engrossing account the transformation of Rose Dugdale from a privileged English debutante into a committed radical and fighter for the liberation of Northern Ireland from British rule. During Rose’s childhood in Devon, her authoritarian mother demanded her compliance with social class expectations, but Rose’s political beliefs shifted to the left at Oxford and led her to participate in revolutionary action. In 1974, she and three others pulled off one of the most spectacular art heists ever: they stormed the home of Conservative MP Alfred Beit, stealing 19 paintings in less than 10 minutes, one of them Vermeer’s The Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid. Amore vividly describes how Rose was identified as the leader of the heist and the subsequent hunt for the perpetrators, as well as the circumstances of her capture and details of the trial, which she used as theater to advocate IRA ideas, though the group never recognized her as a member. Sentenced to nine years in prison, she was released in 1980. Thorough research is matched by prose that keeps the reader turning the pages. True crime and history buffs will revel in the saga of this truly fascinating woman. Agent: Sharlene Martin, Martin Literary Management. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"Anthony M. Amore’s engrossing new book is the first deep dive into the peculiar life of Rose Dugdale, the 33-year-old British heiress with a PhD who, at the time of her arrest, was also wanted for gunrunning, a bombing attempt and armed hijacking."

The Washington Post

"A meticulous account of the impassioned British heiress who robbed the greatest private art collection in the world—riveting."

Matthew Hart

A fine portrait of one of the 20th century’s oddest criminals: Rose Dugdale, reluctant debutante turned art thief and would-be-terrorist.

Luke Jennings

Amore does a fine job of presenting the facts of Dugdale’s life and dispelling the myths about her exploits. A fascinating account of political fervor and purpose and a woman who had the courage of her convictions.

Booklist

As beguiling, complex, and deftly wrought a portrait of Rose Dugdale as the Vermeer she so famously stole. A feat of scholarship and storytelling that will surely go down as the definitive account of the many lives of one of modern history’s most compelling—and confounding—women.

Kelly Horan

"Anthony Amore has written an engrossing character study of Rose Dugdale, a remarkable criminal. I'm very familiar with Anthony and his work, and there are similarities in how he analyzes thefts of art to come up with a specific offender profile and my process for analyzing crimes of violence. Why + How = Who."

John Douglas

"Masses of detail, with insights into the history and culture of the time when Bridget Rose Dugdale's ideas and activities were front-page news. The views of senior IRA people concerning her remarkable adventures as reputational matters are lucid and compelling."

Charley Hill

Amore illustrates with an irresistible blend of wryness and affection [the] engaging pleasures [of] The Woman Who Stole Vermeer. Rose is terrific company: clever, forthright and flamboyant. She is still alive today and is now praised by the former Irish republicans. Her Facebook profile photo is the Russborough Vermeer.

The New York Times Book Review

"Dugdale's fair-minded biographer pronounces her a 'major figure in the annals of criminal history.'"

The Wall Street Journal

"Amore creates a compelling, illuminating portrait of a woman of deep conviction and daring. He has an uncommon nuance in his analysis, and nobody can surpass him for expertise when it comes to the theft of priceless art. The story he tells is a complex one of morality, transgression, and invention.

CrimeReads

[A] gripping narrative.

Washington Post [previous praise for Anthony Amore]

Anthony Amore and Tom Mashberg have a textured feel for Rembrandt's work.

Wall Street Journal [previous praise for Anthony Amore]

A quick and entertaining read.

Christian Science Monitor [previous praise for Anthony Amore]

★ 06/01/2020

Amore's (director of security, chief investigator, Isabella Gardner Museum; The Art of the Con) absorbing work spotlights Rose Dugdale, an English heiress who in the 1970s became a revolutionary activist intent on freeing Ireland and ending capitalism. In 1974, she led the Irish Republican Army in a heist of noteworthy works from the Russborough House in Ireland; among the works taken was Johannes Vermeer's Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid. Details of Dugdale's life—a well-heeled, spirited debutante studying economics at Oxford who became impassioned by the burgeoning student protests around her—are intertwined with an account of the Troubles in England and Ireland. Amore provides effective context for Dugdale's radical actions and offers an examination of the significance of Vermeer's art that bolsters the sophistication of her crimes. Readers will be enthralled by the many worlds Dugdale seemed to inhabit; those curious about art crime may also enjoy Robert K. Wittman's Priceless. VERDICT A captivating book that will entertain fans across genres with its seamless blend of true crime, biography, and art history.—Kate Bellody, SUNY New Paltz

Library Journal

2020-06-18
A rollicking biography of a female art thief.

In his lively third book about art and crime, Amore, the director of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, tells the story of a “fiery, bold, and brash” Englishwoman who stole for nationalistic reasons. Bridget Rose Dugdale (b. 1941) is a “true outlier and major figure in the annals of criminal history.” Born into a wealthy family, she studied philosophy, politics, and economics at several colleges. A position at the Ministry of Overseas Development was “crucial” to her becoming an activist, as was her reading of Marx’s Das Kapital, with its discussion of British imperialism in Ireland. Dugdale was invigorated by seeing Cuba’s revolution in person, attending protests in Manchester, and visiting Northern Ireland. The Bloody Sunday protests were “responsible for her foray into Irish politics,” as she transitioned from “intellectual activist to militant operative.” Englishman Walter Heaton, a married “revolutionary socialist,” became her comrade in arms and, later, her lover. Dugdale’s aggressive activism earned her the nickname “Angel of Tottenham.” In 1973, she broke into one of her family’s estates and stole eight valuable paintings to fence for the Irish Republican Army, a crime for which she received a suspended sentence. With two “local toughs,” she hijacked a helicopter in a botched aerial bombing of a British police station in Northern Ireland. As Amore writes, Dugdale had “elevated her status from gunrunner and rabble-rouser to bona fide terrorist.” In 1974, Vermeer’s painting The Guitar Player was stolen from England’s Kenwood House. Amore believes Dugdale was the thief, but it was never proven. Then came the “biggest theft in the world,” as Amore extravagantly describes it: Dugdale and her IRA cronies brazenly stole 19 paintings from Ireland’s Russborough House, including Vermeer’s Woman Writing a Letter With Her Maid. She only stood trial for the bombing and was sentenced to nine years. Released in 1980, Dugdale has become “something of an icon in Ireland.”

A captivating, detail-rich biography of a “criminal legend.

Kirkus Reviews

"Amore illustrates with an irresistible blend of wryness and affection [the] engaging pleasures [of] The Woman Who Stole Vermeer. Rose is terrific company: clever, forthright and flamboyant. She is still alive today and is now praised by the former Irish republicans. Her Facebook profile photo is the Russborough Vermeer." ― The New York Times Book Review

"Amore charts in this engrossing account the transformation of Rose Dugdale from a privileged English debutante into a committed radical and fighter for the liberation of Northern Ireland from British rule. Thorough research is matched by prose that keeps the reader turning the pages. True crime and history buffs will revel in the saga of this truly fascinating woman." ― Publishers Weekly

"A rollicking biography of a female art thief. In his lively third book about art and crime, Amore, the director of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, tells the story of a “fiery, bold, and brash” Englishwoman who stole for nationalistic reasons...A captivating, detail-rich biography of a 'criminal legend." ― Kirkus Review

"Absorbing. Amore provides effective context for Dugdale’s radical actions and offers an examination of the significance of Vermeer’s art that bolsters the sophistication of her crimes. Readers will be enthralled by the many worlds Dugdale seemed to inhabit. A captivating book that will entertain fans across genres with its seamless blend of true crime, biography, and art history." ― Library Journal (starred)

"Amore does a fine job of presenting the facts of Dugdale’s life and dispelling the myths about her exploits. A fascinating account of political fervor and purpose and a woman who had the courage of her convictions." ― Booklist

"Dugdale's fair-minded biographer pronounces her a 'major figure in the annals of criminal history.'" ― The Wall Street Journal

"Anthony M. Amore’s engrossing new book is the first deep dive into the peculiar life of Rose Dugdale, the 33-year-old British heiress with a PhD who, at the time of her arrest, was also wanted for gunrunning, a bombing attempt and armed hijacking." ― The Washington Post

"This book examines what led [Dugdale] to that Vermeer, and perhaps another, and the remarkable life story that has remained untold for decades." ― CrimeReads

"Anthony Amore has written an engrossing character study of Rose Dugdale, a remarkable criminal. I'm very familiar with Anthony and his work, and there are similarities in how he analyzes thefts of art to come up with a specific offender profile and my process for analyzing crimes of violence. Why + How = Who." ― John Douglas, legendary FBI criminal profiler, #1 New York Times best-selling author, and inspiration for Netflix's Mindhunter

"Masses of detail, with insights into the history and culture of the time when Bridget Rose Dugdale's ideas and activities were front-page news. The views of senior IRA people concerning her remarkable adventures as reputational matters are lucid and compelling." ― Charley Hill, retired London Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Inspector and an art crime researcher

"A meticulous account of the impassioned British heiress who robbed the greatest private art collection in the world—riveting." ― Matthew Hart, author of the award-winning The Irish Game: a True Story of Crime and Art and the thriller The Russian Pink

"A fine portrait of one of the 20th century’s oddest criminals: Rose Dugdale, reluctant debutante turned art thief and would-be-terrorist." ― Luke Jennings, author of the Killing Eve novels

"As beguiling, complex, and deftly wrought a portrait of Rose Dugdale as the Vermeer she so famously stole. A feat of scholarship and storytelling that will surely go down as the definitive account of the many lives of one of modern history’s most compelling—and confounding—women." ― Kelly Horan, author of Devotion & Defiance

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