Heather Webb Spins Tale of Female Gang in 'Queens of London'

USA Today bestselling author, Heather Webb, sits down with us to discuss her latest historical fiction and 9th published novel, Queens of London: A Novel. Set in London in 1925, Queens of London tells the story of Alice Diamond, aka “Diamond Annie,” the leader of the notorious Forty Elephants gang, the first all-female crime syndicate in Britain. Hot on her trails is Inspector Lilian Wyles, the first woman admitted into the criminal investigation department at Scotland Yard, who is determined to take down Diamond Annie and her band of thieves. Regarding the backstory of Alice Diamond, a true-to-life person, Webb said, “She was nicknamed Diamond Annie by the police because she wore diamond rings on all four fingers on both of her hands, and when she would get into a scuffle, she used them like a weapon. So this is how she got the nickname Diamond Annie. She began actually thieving at a really young age. Her father was a thief, her mother was a thief… They travel from one terrible, hovel apartment to the next, skipping out on rent whenever possible. When she decides to really embark upon this life of crime, she finds that she’s quite good at it because she’s very smart. She’s very clever, she’s great at reading people, so she starts to really elevate the gang. So they went from something that people had heard of to a really powerful stronghold in the city that shoppers recognized on the streets, that the police knew…” Additionally, in the story, Diamond Annie also acts as the protector of other women. How historically accurate was this? According to Webb, “I think, at least to some degree, it must be true because you don’t become head of the gang unless you look out for your flock… you just don’t get to that kind of status and have people come to you and want to be under your wing unless you do a good job taking care of your own.”

When doing research for her stories, Webb finds most of her information through books than anywhere else. “I gather a lot of texts that are used, academic texts, that kind of stuff. You find some really good, juicy information in there and there’s all those coffee table books… you know, you find some good stuff in those. But yes, I absolutely, of course, use the Internet. It’s too helpful these days to not. You can access any library anywhere if you go through your main branch… Of course, I try to go to the locations in person because there’s just no substitute for that… it’s one of my favorite parts, obviously, the research. I mean, I get to learn and as a teacher, how can I not love that part? I love all the learning!”