The Role Of Heism In Edward Pierce's Crime Of The Century

Victorian era London was chaotic. Whether people walked the busy streets or would dwell in London’s Holy Land, the overall environment painted a scene of disarray. This disorganization was enticing in nature; the prostitutes, underground sporting, and the will to hustle all held an aura that was provocative. Such was the case in Edward Pierce’s “crime of the century”: the great train robbery. With Pierce’s motives for the heist never unveiled, a deeper look into his actions and surroundings reveals that London’s organized chaos was Pierce’s motivation through the inception, progression, and completion of his daunting task. Were it not for the disorder within London’s railroad infrastructure, Pierce could have easily foregone his heist. Due to England’s rapid railroad growth, “London was overwhelmed, and never managed to build a

Henry Fowler, the general manager of the bank, contracted venereal disease and was in need of a virgin in an attempt to cure it (Crichton 88). Pierce, cunning as he is, had a virgin steal the key needed for the bank safe from Fowler’s neck. Some elite men, like bank president Edgar Trent, were seen indulging in rat baiting. It was an interesting sight: the rat sport filled the dingy pub with well-dressed gentlemen and those of the lowest social status (Crichton 49). It is Trent’s participation in the organized chaos of rat baiting that Pierce was finally able to have an encounter with Trent. This would lead to Pierce gaining the love of Miss Trent, beginning with a chaotic story about killing buffaloes. This relationship would inadvertently help Pierce find the hiding place of Trent’s key. In regards to London’s laymen, it was the commotion of the hanging of Emma Barnes that created a distraction to free Clean Willy. All these events that arose from chaos were pivotal to Pierce’s continuation of his robbery, and motivated him to complete