THE VILLAINS: Inside the London Underworld

by Peta Fordham ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 6, 1973

Daughter of one barrister and wife of another, Peta Fordham has formed improbable friendships with a considerable cross section of London's professional knaves ever since childhood when her father regularly defended Mr. Smith, the town burglar -- a sweet chap really, After many years of acquaintance she finds them ""exhausting, stimulating, exasperating, endearing, crafty, trustful, mean, generous, faithful, faithless, hostile, affectionate"" -- in short, human. Of course she's not talking about Mafia types (they don't flourish much in England, ""we are not a large enough market to attract them"") or vicious killers like the Kray brothers: just your regular, hardworking, home-grown, salt-of-the-earth thief or bunco artist. Their domestic life is old-fashioned unto prudish; their politics are impeccably Tory to a man; they're sentimental about birthdays and Christmas; and their style of dress today, unlike 30 years ago, seldom falls below ""a high standard of sartorial elegance."" Mrs. Fordham spills what she's learned over the years about their journeyman skills -- silencing alarms and cracking safes -- their attitudes toward their jobs, toward the law and getting ""nicked,"" toward their ""moils"" and wives and love of gambling and swanky restaurants. And while she's not quite on a par with her predecessor John Gay, this has some of the same good humor and sardonic sympathy which made The Beggar's Opera such a rewarding excursion into the London underworld circa 200 years ago. You suspect her occasionally of deliberately withholding the seamy and cruel side of this life but (unlike a good many American authors) she's certainly not enamored of macho violence. Or perhaps English crooks are just nicer.

Pub Date: June 6, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harper & Row

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1973

Categories: NONFICTION