Gentleman Thief - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

Notable gentlemen thieves (and lady thieves) in popular culture include the following:

  • Leslie Charteris's Simon Templar
  • Thomas Crown from The Thomas Crown Affair
  • John Robie in Alfred Hitchcock's To Catch a Thief,
  • E. W. Hornung's A. J. Raffles
  • Carmen Sandiego (character)
  • Edward Pierce from The Great Train Robbery
  • Selina Kyle (Catwoman)
  • Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin
  • Arsène Lupin III, from Lupin III (by Monkey Punch).
  • Kaito Kuroba the Phantom Thief Kid from Magic Kaito and later Detective Conan (by Gosho Aoyama)
  • Meimi Haneoka, who transforms into Saint Tail, a thief with acrobatic and magician skills, from Saint Tail (by Megumi Tachikawa)
  • Dark Mousy the angel-like thief from D.N.Angel (by Yukiru Sugisaki).
  • David Goldman in An Education

All are superb at stealing while maintaining a sophisticated front and/or a thief's code of honor: Raffles steals mostly when he is especially in need of money; Lupin steals more from the rich who don't appreciate art or their treasures and redistributes it (not unlike a modern Robin Hood); Saint Tail steals back what was stolen or taken dishonestly, or rights the wrongs done to the innocent by implicating the real criminals.

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