How the ‘Queen of Thieves’ Conned French Riviera Wealthy
The cat burglar and fake countess swindled and stole her way through La Belle Époque.
IN THE PREDAWN HOURS OF March 8, 1908, Nice’s famed Promenade des Anglais, bustling during the day, was quiet. So too were the corridors of the Hôtel Impérial nearby. Down one plush hallway, a woman in black moved noiselessly in felt-soled shoes, melting into the shadows. She wore a black veil that shrouded her features, and carried a set of silver lockpicks. After years of pursuit, French police were about to catch the so-called Comtesse de Monteil in the act. The “pseudocomtesse,” as newspapers dubbed her, was a jewel thief, cat burglar, and con artist, as well as the alleged leader of a ring of thieves that stretched across the Mediterranean’s most opulent tourist destinations.
