AT THE MUSEUM Queens of the Underworld: A Journey into the Lives of Female Crooks
Join us in person at the Museum.
Queens of the Underworld: A Journey into the Lives of Female Crooks
Thursday 13th August 2026, 18:30 (doors open 18:15)
Popular culture is littered with famous criminal men – from Robin Hood and Dick Turpin to Ronnie Biggs and the Kray brothers - but what about all the criminal women? Where are the highwaywomen and jewel thieves, the bank robbers and gold smugglers, the motor bandits and burglars?
In Queens of the Underworld, Caitlin Davies traces the history of professional female crooks, from Moll Cutpurse who ruled the Jacobean underworld, to Noreen Harbord the postwar Queen of the Contraband Coast, and Zoe Progl, Britain’s No. 1 Woman Burglar who appeared in the Bow Street dock in the autumn of 1960, recaptured after her notorious escape from Holloway Prison.
Join our speaker as she retraces the steps of her subjects to shed overdue light on the murky world of female crooks.
Caitlin Davies is a novelist, non-fiction writer and award-winning journalist. Her recent books focus on women in the justice system, as criminals, prisoners and detectives. Bad Girls: The Rebels and Renegades of Holloway Prison was nominated for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing (2019).
Caitlin is Writer in Residence at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, as a Royal Literary Fund Fellow. She lives in Kent and is a trained Professional Investigator. https://www.caitlindavies.co.uk/
Booking essential as places are limited.
Timings: doors open at 18:15 and entry before then will be refused. The talk begins at 18:30 and lasts approximately 75 minutes, including a Q&A with the audience. This will be followed by a book signing.
Conditions of entry: this event is recommended for anyone over the age of 16 years.
Tickets: there are two ways to attend this event, in person at Bow Street Museum, or online via a live stream (using Zoom).
Prices to attend at the Museum: £15
Ticket options
Join us in person at the Museum.
Queens of the Underworld: A Journey into the Lives of Female Crooks
Thursday 13th August 2026, 18:30 (doors open 18:15)
Popular culture is littered with famous criminal men – from Robin Hood and Dick Turpin to Ronnie Biggs and the Kray brothers - but what about all the criminal women? Where are the highwaywomen and jewel thieves, the bank robbers and gold smugglers, the motor bandits and burglars?
In Queens of the Underworld, Caitlin Davies traces the history of professional female crooks, from Moll Cutpurse who ruled the Jacobean underworld, to Noreen Harbord the postwar Queen of the Contraband Coast, and Zoe Progl, Britain’s No. 1 Woman Burglar who appeared in the Bow Street dock in the autumn of 1960, recaptured after her notorious escape from Holloway Prison.
Join our speaker as she retraces the steps of her subjects to shed overdue light on the murky world of female crooks.
Caitlin Davies is a novelist, non-fiction writer and award-winning journalist. Her recent books focus on women in the justice system, as criminals, prisoners and detectives. Bad Girls: The Rebels and Renegades of Holloway Prison was nominated for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing (2019).
Caitlin is Writer in Residence at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, as a Royal Literary Fund Fellow. She lives in Kent and is a trained Professional Investigator. https://www.caitlindavies.co.uk/
Booking essential as places are limited.
Timings: doors open at 18:15 and entry before then will be refused. The talk begins at 18:30 and lasts approximately 75 minutes, including a Q&A with the audience. This will be followed by a book signing.
Conditions of entry: this event is recommended for anyone over the age of 16 years.
Tickets: there are two ways to attend this event, in person at Bow Street Museum, or online via a live stream (using Zoom).
Prices to attend at the Museum: £15
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