Edward Pierce

“Contemporary observers clearly believed [Pierce’s] aristocratic origins; journalistic accounts often referred to Pierce as a “rogue,” using the term in the sense of a male animal gone bad” (Crichton 5). Edward Pierce was described as a refined gentleman who turns to the lower-class to carry out a crime. Pierce committed the robbery by obtaining a motive to maintain his social status and wealth; he was able to sustain this motive by turning to crime and by using his cunning traits to outsmart authority. Crichton manages to point out Edward Pierce’s social status. To retain his wealth, he contacted people involved with crime and poverty in the lower-class, such as Agar, “a known screwsman, or specialist in keys and safe-breaking” (7), Clean
He was able to acquire information from Mr. Fowler about where the gold and keys were kept. “Two [keys were] stored in the railway office itself. A third [was] in the custody of the bank’s president...” (15). If Pierce was not accepted in this social circle, than he would have never collected this information. He easily captured an authority's trust. Therefore, his motive to stay on top and remain wealthy was fostered.
After Pierce was arrested, he managed to escape. “Journalistic accounts of the escape are vague, and all mention that the authorities showed reluctance to discuss it at length” (264). Pierce was able to discover a way out under the nose of authority and face zero consequences, which allowed him to feel like he was still winning. Because “the money from The Great Train Robbery was never recovered” (266), he consummated his motive of staying within the higher social class.
Pierce is monumentalized as the man who committed the greatest crime in Victorian England all because of his motive. Turning to the lower-class for crime and using his cunning traits to deceive the authorities, enabled Pierce to obtain the money. Carrying out the robbery portrayed his motive of wanting a reputable social status and