Gentleman Thief

In the Victorian vernacular, a gentleman thief or lady thief (called phantom thief in the East) is a particularly well-behaving and apparently well bred thief. A "gentleman or lady" is usually, but not always, a person with an inherited title of nobility and inherited wealth, who need not work for a living. Such a person steals not in order to gain material wealth, but for adventure; they act without malice. These thieves rarely bother with anonymity or force, preferring to rely on their charisma, physical attractiveness, and clever misdirection to steal the most unobtainable objects — sometimes for their own support, but mostly for the thrill of the act itself.

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Famous quotes containing the words gentleman and/or thief:

    “There’s no art
    To find the mind’s construction in the face:
    He was a gentleman on whom I built
    An absolute trust.”
    —William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

    “Time is a very bankrupt and owes more than he’s worth to
    season.
    Nay, he’s a thief too: have you not heard men say,
    That Time comes stealing on by night and day?”
    —William Shakespeare (1564–1616)