1975 "FIRST EDITION" stated on copyright page; Alfred A. Knopf publishers, New York; hardbound in green and brown boards with black lettering on cover, gilt stamp lettering along spine; $7.95 price on inside flap; very good condition with unmarked pages; dust jacket very good.
 
description -
The Great Train Robbery is a bestselling 1975 historical novel written by Michael Crichton. Originally published in the USA by Alfred A. Knopf (then, a division of Random House), it is currently published by Avon, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. It is the story of the Great Gold Robbery of 1855, a massive gold heist, which takes place on a train travelling through Victorian-era England on 22 May 1855. Most of the book takes place in London. A 1978 film adaptation was written for the screen and directed by Michael Crichton.
 
Plot -
In 1854, Edward Pierce, a charismatic and affluent "cracksman" or master thief, makes plans to steal a shipment of gold worth more than twelve thousand pounds being transported monthly from London to the Crimean Warfront. He faces enormous obstacles as the bank has taken strict precautions, including locking the gold in two custom-built safes, each with two locks, thus requiring a total of four keys to open. He recruits Robert Agar, a "screwsman" or specialist in copying keys, as an accomplice.
 
To ensure his plan's success, Pierce spends more than a year in preparation. His first steps are fairly easy as he uses his wealth and social contacts to procure information on the security measures and locations of the keys. The bank's president, Edgar Trent, and its general manager, Henry Fowler, each possess a key. The other two are locked in a cabinet at the offices of the South Eastern Railway at the London Bridge terminus.
 
Pierce's first target is Edgar Trent's key...