1. Charles Deville Wells, the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo. (Daily Mirror)

2. The docks at La Joliette, Marseille. Charles Wells worked for the Messageries Maritimes, a steamship company based here. (Author’s collection)

3. The Avenue de l’Opéra, Paris. The Opéra Garnier can be seen in the distance facing down the avenue. Wells had offices in the second block on the left-hand side. (Author’s collection)

4. This portrait of Jeannette Pairis by W. & J. Stuart Photographers of Brompton Road, London, dates from about 1893. It was used by Scotland Yard to confirm her identity. (The National Archives)

5. The only known picture of the Palais Royal (depicted here in her earlier incarnation as the Tycho Brahe). (Author’s collection)

6. The casino at Monte Carlo. In 1891 Charles Wells left the building late at night, crossed the square in the foreground, and slept at the adjacent Hôtel de Paris with 1 million francs beneath his pillow. (Author’s collection)

7. Interior of the Monte Carlo Casino. The room shown is almost certainly the one where Charles Wells broke the bank. The ‘bulls-eye’ windows above the doorways provided a secret spy hole for Camille Blanc to watch proceedings. (Author’s collection)

8. Jeannette Pairis (centre, front) ran a station buffet at Uxbridge, probably in the late 1890s. (Pairis family collection)

9. Place Boïeldieu, Paris. Wells based his bank here, with a placard on the balustrade where the A Louer (To Rent) sign can be seen (right). The building was the birthplace of author Alexandre Dumas (fils). (Author’s collection)

10. Charles Wells lived at this house in Edith Grove, Chelsea. (Author’s collection)

11. Charles Deville Wells was born at this house on the High Road, Broxbourne, in 1841. The property is now known as Walton House.(Author’s collection)

12. Wells had an office here at 5 Avenue de l’Opéra around 1883. (Author’s collection)

13. Jeannette Pairis in the 1890s. The nautical theme of her dress suggests that this may have been an outfit to wear on yachting expeditions with Charles. (Pairis family collection)

14. The HQ of the Sûreté, 36 Quai des Orfèvres. The manhunt for ‘Lucien Rivier’ was directed from here. (Author’s collection)

15. The yacht Excelsior at her moorings just after the arrest of ‘Rivier’. A wistful Captain Emery stands on deck – possibly wondering whether his employer will return. (Daily Mirror)

16. 39 Oakley Crescent (now Oakley Gardens), Chelsea. The entrance to Jeannette’s apartment is beside the tree. (Author’s collection)