Why Crime Does Not Pay

"Why Crime Does Not Pay" by Mrs. Sophie Van Elkan Lyons Burke is a true-life story about a woman's journey through a life of crime. Readers follow Sophie Lyons, known as the "Queen of the Underworld," from her early days as a child pickpocket, carefully taught by her stepmother, to her eventual understanding that a life of crime brings nothing but pain. It paints a picture of her upbringing, where stealing was not just acceptable but a required skill, and shows the many arrests and the lack of love that came with it; Sophie reflects on the wrong ideas that led her down this path, showing that crime truly does not pay.