Diamond Doris

the long version

"Growing up during the Depression in the segregated coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, the bright and willful Doris Payne dreamed big. Fascinated by the fine clothes, jewels, and lifestyles in magazines such as Town & Country and Harper's Bazaar, she imagined a world beyond herself, one in which she did not carry the weight of limitations that others imposed on her and where her beloved mother was free from her father's abuse. After the owner of a local store threw her out when a white customer arrived, Doris vowed that neither her race or gender would hold her back. She was going to control her own life and make her own money. Using her Southern charm and quick wit, she began shoplifting small pieces of jewelry from local stores, and over the course of six decades, grew her talents with each heist. As a world-class expert jewel thief, she daringly pulled off numerous diamond robberies, using nuns and various ruses to help her avoid arrest while her Jewish boyfriend fenced the stolen gems. A rip-roaringly fun and exciting tale, Diamond Doris is the portrait of a captivating antihero who experienced life to the fullest -- on her own terms." -- "In the ebullient spirit of Ocean's 8, The Heist, and Thelma & Louise, a sensational and entertaining memoir of the world's most notorious jewel thief--a woman who defied society's prejudices and norms to carve her own path, stealing from elite jewelers to live her dreams." --Publisher