The Great Train Robbery was published by Alfred A. Knopf in May 1975 and is Crichton’s one historical novel — a meticulous reconstruction of the 1855 theft of gold bullion from a South Eastern Railway train traveling from London to Folkestone. Edward Agar, a gentleman criminal, assembled a team that spent two years obtaining wax impressions of the four keys needed to open the safes, then boarded the train, opened the safes during the journey, threw the gold out the window to an accomplice, and replaced it with lead shot bags. It was the crime of the century — and went undetected until Agar’s mistress betrayed him.
Crichton tells the story with his characteristic procedural precision, treating the Victorian technology — the Chubb locks, the railway timetables, the wax impression techniques — with the same attention he gives to DNA extraction in Jurassic Park or sterilization procedures in The Andromeda Strain. The result is a techno-thriller set in 1855: the technology is different, but the narrative structure — a team of experts executing a complex plan against a technological obstacle — is pure Crichton.
The Victorian World
Crichton’s research was meticulous: he drew on trial transcripts, newspaper accounts, and historical records to reconstruct not only the robbery but the entire social world of 1850s London — the rookeries, the flash houses, the railway terminals, the criminal argot. The novel’s footnotes (explaining Victorian slang and social customs) add to the documentary effect and recall the pseudo-academic apparatus of The Andromeda Strain.
The Film
Crichton directed the 1979 film adaptation himself — one of only three films he directed. Sean Connery starred as Agar, and Donald Sutherland played his confederate. The film is a handsome, entertaining period piece that captures the novel’s heist-procedural pleasures. Connery’s rooftop sequences on the moving train were performed without CGI, using only wind machines and a real train.
Collecting The Great Train Robbery
First edition (1975, Alfred A. Knopf, New York): Boards with dust jacket. “First Edition” stated.
Approximate market values:
- Fine/Fine in dust jacket: $200–$600
- Signed first edition: $400–$1,200
- Without jacket: $20–$50
Value trajectory (2016–2026): Moderate appreciation.
Projected values (2026–2036): Moderate. Signed copies should reach $800–$2,000. The novel’s status as Crichton’s only historical work gives it a distinctive position in his bibliography.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the robbery real? Yes. The 1855 South Eastern Railway bullion robbery is a well-documented historical event. Crichton took some liberties — the novel compresses the timeline and simplifies the cast of conspirators — but the essential facts are accurate: the wax key impressions, the replacement with lead shot, the betrayal by the mistress.
Why did Crichton direct the film himself? He had previously directed Westworld (1973) and Coma (1978). Crichton enjoyed filmmaking and felt that the heist narrative — with its emphasis on planning and execution — was ideally suited to his visual, procedural storytelling style.