Stealing Mona Lisa by Carson Morton (2011)Read about another entry on the list.
Morton’s sprightly caper novel merges two shocking, real-life incidents from early 20th-century Paris. In January 1910, heavy rainfall caused the River Seine’s water level to rise some 28 feet above normal, flooding city streets, businesses and homes, leading the sewers and electricity to fail, and drawing locals of all backgrounds together in defense of their beautiful metropolis. A year and a half later, in August 1911, Leonardo da Vinci’s famous Mona Lisa was pilfered from the Louvre by an Italian nationalist; it wasn’t recovered until 1914. Stealing Mona Lisa builds around one early theory regarding the painting’s disappearance: that it had fallen into the hands of a band of thieves and forgers led by charming Argentinean con man Eduardo de Valfierno. In Morton’s telling, Valfierno schemes to acquire the mystifying Mona, so that he can have it copied and then peddle those knockoffs to credulous American plutocrats. But when one of his “pigeons” proves to be less gullible than he’d hoped, quick thinking—and some quick stepping around a debilitating deluge (the 1910 flood, shifted in time here for dramatic purposes)—will be required to keep himself, his gang of rogues, and his plundered prize safe. The author’s meticulous re-creation of Belle Époque Paris and his explorations of a romance that will ultimately bring down Valfierno and his plans, enhance what is already a delightfully engineered mystery.
The Page 69 Test: Stealing Mona Lisa.
My Book, The Movie: Stealing Mona Lisa.
--Marshal Zeringue
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