Stealing Sisi's Star: How a Master Thief Nearly Got Away with Austria's Most Famous Jewel

Posted on by Jennifer Bowers Bahney
Stealing Sisi s Star How a Master Thief Nearly Got Away with Austria s Most Famous Jewel In June at the height of Vienna s tourist season an accomplished thief happened upon the greatest challenge of his young life While on honeymoon he spotted the last remaining diamond and pearl

In June 1998, at the height of Vienna s tourist season, an accomplished thief happened upon the greatest challenge of his young life While on honeymoon, he spotted the last remaining diamond and pearl Sisi Star, named for its original 19th century owner Empress Elisabeth, on display in Sch nbrunn Palace, the Viennese version of Versailles The ten pointed star had beenIn June 1998, at the height of Vienna s tourist season, an accomplished thief happened upon the greatest challenge of his young life While on honeymoon, he spotted the last remaining diamond and pearl Sisi Star, named for its original 19th century owner Empress Elisabeth, on display in Sch nbrunn Palace, the Viennese version of Versailles The ten pointed star had been one of twenty seven that the enigmatic Sisi, who was considered one of the most beautiful women of her day, wore in her extravagantly long, lush hair Despite the multi layered, high tech security methods guarding the precious piece of jewelry as it rested on its red velvet pillow, the thief decided then and there that he would use his extraordinary talents to steal it.The Star would remain hidden some 7,000 miles away until a team of determined Canadian police investigators launched a joint task force to bring down a criminal organization that had robbed banks, stores, and ordinary citizens on several continents When the chief suspect offered to reveal the surprising whereabouts of the long forgotten Sisi Star some nine years after it went missing, the officers realized that they were dealing with no ordinary thief No one involved in the case, however, fully understood the exceptionally rich history of the Sisi Star its ties to obsession, suicide, extravagant spending, and even assassination nor how important it was for Austria to get it back.

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    250 Jennifer Bowers Bahney
Stealing Sisi's Star: How a Master Thief Nearly Got Away with Austria's Most Famous Jewel

  1. I m a huge fan of both history and true crime genres which led me to write my first book, Stealing Sisi s Star How a Master Thief Nearly Got Away With Austria s Most Famous Jewel It was released on June 3, 2015, by McFarland Co Publishers, Jefferson, N.C and was a 2016 Ohioana Book Prize Finalist in Nonfiction.The follow up, Betrayer s Waltz The Unlikely Bond Between Marie Valerie of Austria and Hitler s Princess Spy was released on Nov 15, 2017.I have a B.A in history from Smith College and a Master s in Journalism from Northwestern University My career path has taken me from reporting and producing local television news to writing and producing internationally for CNN in Atlanta I am currently a newspaper editor in central Ohio.Please follow me on Facebook facebook jbbahney

250 Reply to “Stealing Sisi's Star: How a Master Thief Nearly Got Away with Austria's Most Famous Jewel”

  1. There is a scene just before the close of the first act of the phenomenal German musical Elisabeth where Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, husband of the titular Empress comes to her door begging to be allowed to see her As the music reaches a jaw dropping crescendo the most beautiful woman in a century is revealed, captured as a living painting inside a gigantic frame She is wrapped in layer upon layer of shimmering, white tulle, a delicate fan in her hand, and threaded through the cascading wav [...]

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  2. A young, naive bride and an overbearing and critical mother in law is a recipe for disaster Add in the fact that the young bride is marrying the future Austrian Emporer The author, Jennifer Bowers Bahney, skillfully tells the story of Elizabeth, AKA Sisi, Empress of Austria Did the Monster in law lead Sisi to strange almost insane behavior Probably not That would be too simplistic For whatever reason, Sisi disengaged from her family and her duties of the royal court And, like many women, she tur [...]

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  3. This dual biography features a modern day thief and the Empress Elizabeth of Austria, Queen of Hungary wife of Emperor Franz Joseph Most of the history focuses on Empress Elizabeth, known as Sisi, who was eccentric, anorexic, and had hair to the floor She was self centered and traveled continuously from the time she married until her assassination in 1898 Bahney lavishes much attention on the Empress The Thief Gerald Daniel Blanchard gets second billing He was an ingenious thief who could circum [...]

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  4. A fascinating look at Empress Sisi while telling how her famous hair jewel was stolen This book told much detail about her that the previous book I read about her, but it s clear that royalty are a different breed of people Interestingly, the thief was pretty unique too He clearly felt untouchable.Note to self This book mentioned one of my ancestors I am just learning that a branch of my maiden name De Hoyos relocated from Spain to Austria to work with Franz Joseph s court In Austria, they are [...]

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  5. I was very disappointed in this book Last year I read Sisi, Empress on Her Own, which I enjoyed, but later learned was inaccurate This book was suggested as a reliable alternative Unfortunately, I found it very dry The author gave equal time to the unappealing, creepy criminal as to the Empress Perhaps I had unrealistic expectations, but it gave me no new insights into the life of the Empress It would have been entertaining as a magazine article but didn t warrant a book Not recommended.

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  6. Overall this is a good book However, the author definitely focuses way on a biography of Empress Sisi then the theft There are some elements of the theft there and back story, but the real star is the information on the Empress.

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  7. I just love reading this author s books The history, the intrigue, the research It s always a fascinating ride.

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  8. Two great true crimes, a century apart, rolled into one.Jennifer Bowers Bahney tells the true story of a modern jewelry heist It s worthy of an action film A thief breaks into a museum in Vienna and steals one of Austria s most famous jewels That story, and how the case was solved, serves as a backdrop to a biography of the jewel s original owner, Sisi, or Empress Elisabeth of Austria Once considered the most beautiful woman of Europe, Sisi worked behind the scenes to bring Hungary into the Aust [...]

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  9. Overall this was an interesting book The author juxtaposes the stories of Sisi and Gerald Blanchard by focusing on each person in a different chapter, but connecting certain themes in their personalities However, I thought the treatment of the story of Blanchard was interesting as it followed a chronological order, I just wanted to get to the next chapter to learn what happened with him next On the other hand, the author went back and forth in time as she told the story of Sisi, focusing on th [...]

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  10. Excellent It is refreshing to find an author who skillfully writes about historical characters, presented as an enjoyable read Jennifer Bowers Bahney has won my admiration with this work Bringing together the stories of a 19th century empress and a 20th century master thief who successfully stole one of her most famous jewels 100 years following her death, Bahney successfully entertains as well as informs This is a great book.

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