Forging first editions: a 1930s crime caper

What this episode covers

Thomas James Wise was well-respected among the rare book fanatics of 1930s London as a consummate collector. But when he began to uncover a surprising amount of valuable first editions in mint condition, things began to look a bit fishy. Speaking to Ellie Cawthorne, academic and author Joseph Hone transports listeners back to the eccentric world of 1930s book collecting, to explore the audacious crimes of an ingenious forger. (Ad) Joseph Hone is the author of The Book Forger: The true story of a literary crime that fooled the world (Chatto & Windus, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Forger-story-literary-fooled/dp/1784744670/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty. The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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How long is this episode of HistoryExtra podcast?

This episode is 31 minutes long.

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This episode was published on June 9, 2024.

What is this episode about?

Thomas James Wise was well-respected among the rare book fanatics of 1930s London as a consummate collector. But when he began to uncover a surprising amount of valuable first editions in mint condition, things began to look a bit fishy. Speaking to...

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