Alice Diamond and the Forty Elephants

By: Brian McDonald

Narrated by: Adna Sablyich

Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

The Forty Elephants were unique in the annals of British crime. Known also as the Forty Thieves, they were the country's only all-female crime syndicate, a gang of tough but glamorous young women who plundered the fashion stores and jewel shops of the West End, took their lovers from the among London's most notorious gangsters, and terrorised their rivals, male and female alike.

Their roots lay with the Elephant Gang, a band of highwaymen who once haunted the Elephant and Castle coaching inn south of the Thames and whose reputation descended through generations of cutthroats. In the dying years of Queen Victoria's reign, their women forged a name of their own.

But it was in the early years of the 20th century that Alice Diamond led the Elephants to their greatest infamy. Born the oldest of eight children in Lambeth Workhouse Infirmary, Diamond was the daughter of a jailbird and by her teens was said to be the cleverest shoplifter in London. Newspapers described her gang as 'notorious for their good looks, fine stature, and smart clothing' as well as for stealing the most expensive silks, gems, and furs. One detective described how they would descend 'like a gang of locusts' in taxis and chauffeur-driven limousines, cleaning out a store inside one hour. They also used the motor-car and train to travel the country, targeting shops and warehouses, wearing specially made skirts and knickers to hide their plunder and spending their ill-gotten gains on a life of mad excess.

Crime historian Brian McDonald has uncovered a wealth of material to write the first ever full-length account of these remarkable women and their scandalous exploits, now available for the first time as an audiobook read by Adna Sablyich.

©2015 Brian McDonald (P)2018 Sharp Eared Owl Audiobooks

Boring and dry

While information on the various people involved in this gang is doubtless very slim, that makes it all the more imperative to try to humanize them. The seemingly endless litany of details extracted from public records made for very boring listening.

Interesting stories of real women made kinda dull

Was not a fan of how this author wrote about these women. It felt like he described the awful, desperate conditions in which they lived and just wanted them to die and starve to death

It was also written in this way that’s got a tone of like “I’m better than these women I’m talking about, I would never turn to crime in desperate times”. He also talked about they should’ve instead fought for their cause but I don’t understand how they might have done that when any action done was condemned explicitly, every time, by the author.

Lots of men being talked about that seemingly had nothing to do with the gang or just irrelevant to what’s being talked about, people with plenty of recorded history already

If you can get through it, you may enjoy it for the interesting lives these women led, but those stories are ABSOLUTELY doing the heavy lifting in this book written very dryly and in a condescending attitude to these women.

If you can get through it, the story of these

Narration Horrible

I couldn’t even finish this one, due to the narration. I honestly can’t say if the story was compelling because I couldn’t get past the enunciation of nearly every word.

Dry as dust

I made it a couple of hours before giving up. It’s like listening to someone read a rap sheet. There’s no continuity of character, no compelling descriptions of anyone, any place, or any action. The thieves just blend together. I had hopes this would be interesting and it might have been if the author had bothered to do anything other than list criminals and their crimes.