Diver was born around 1700 in Ireland the illegitimate daughter of an unknown father and the
lady's maid Harriet Jones. After her mother deserted her, Diver grew up in various foster homes. She was a skilled
seamstress,
and eventually emigrated to
London,
England, where she became an apprentice of
Anne Murphy, who was the leader of a gang of
pickpockets. She soon
became so skilled as a thief that she became the leader of Murphy's gang
and nicknamed Jenny Diver as she was so deft at diving into people's pockets.
painting by Dan Craig
Once she'd made her fortune and could afford the finest clothes, Diver was described as attractive, educated and well dressed, and was
able to mix among wealthy people without attracting suspicion. The best known of her methods was to feign illness, during which she
robbed people and handed over the objects to her accomplices. She would
also use false arms which made it possible for her to rob people with
her arms seemingly visible in her lap. On one occasion she removed a diamond ring from a man’s hand without him knowing until he missed it later.
She
was also adept at playing the so-called “Badger Game.” A wealthy
gentleman would be lured to her lodgings with the promise of sexual
favors. The gang would then relieve the unsuspecting fellow of his
valuables and clothes. One of these escapades is said to have yielded
100 guineas, an amount that would be equivalent of at least $13,000
today (estimates vary widely).
She was arrested twice under false names and was convicted to
deportation as a first-time criminal. On January 10, 1741, she was arrested for a third time, but this time
she was correctly identified and could not give a false name and was accused not only of theft but also of having returned after deportation, which was a capital crime, thus, her execution on March 18.
There's a lot more to know about her on the
Strange Company blog and I discovered the writer of that blog used some of the same images I used but has others (
link below).
Susan F. Craft wrote a novel, The Chamomile, based on the life of Diver which won the SIBA Okra Pick award (link below).
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