The Theft of the Century

Adventure

Who stole the Mona Lisa?


Paris, 21st August 1911. A thief enters the Louvre without catching an eye. With a quick movement, he detaches the painting from the wall, leaving a ring of dust around it. He needs to hurry. The lady in the portrait gives him an imperceptible smile as she’s wrapped in his jacket. A few minutes later the thief is out, walking away with a sweaty shirt and a triumphant expression: he’s stolen the Mona Lisa! The police interrogate the employees, workers and museum guards, imagining a maniac, a mad collector or a simple joke; then they arrest the poet Apollinaire for a few days and even suspect his friend Picasso. All wasted time! Only a young Italian immigrant named Alfio and the daughter of the director of the Louvre, Amélie, by joining forces, will be able to flush out the elusive thief.

  • Two witty kids, a daring investigation and an early twentieth-century Paris turned upside down in search of the most famous painting in the world, mysteriously stolen from the Louvre.

  • An incredible adventure based on true events: the most famous art theft in history!

Publisher: Einaudi Ragazzi (Italy)
Target: 10+
Year: 2020
Author
Daniele Nicastro

Daniele Nicastro was born in 1978. He currently lives in a small village in the province of Cuneo, where he writes everything: novels, postcards, messages in bottles and phrases on the walls. He began telling stories as a boy, to his mother, whenever he came home late without warning her. Over time he made a profession out of it. He made his debut with the novel Grande, which won the Legenda Junior Prize and was shortlisted for the Bancarellino Prize 2018. He has consolidated experience in several genres, from adventure novels to funny stories, but always focused on themes related to growing up.

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