Original Article & Video Link: https://www.abc.es/cultura/libros/katherine-neville-javier-sierra-robo-louvre-intriga-20251110133933-nt.html
Katherine Neville and Javier Sierra: “The Louvre robbery has enough intrigue for a novel”
The author of ‘The Master Plan’ talks with the mystery writer about the stolen objects of power in France and about her favorite places in Spain
Jesus Garcia Calero
Just days after the Louvre robbery , with French police already arresting several suspects , we meet with two masters of mystery literature that blends museums and art: Katherine Neville (celebrated author of ‘Eight’ and ‘ The Fire’) is visiting Spain to accept an award, accompanied by another great author of the genre, her dear friend Javier Sierra ( ‘The Master Plan’, ‘The Master of the Prado’). If you ask these two inquisitive minds what they think about the Louvre jewel heist, they aren’t particularly interested in the backgrounds of those arrested, but rather in the power of the stolen objects and, in the case of the American author, a certain disappointment at the choice of those jewels from among all the works housed in the former palace of the Kings of France.
Katherine Neville: -I wonder why they stole what they stole, nothing compared to the things you could take from the Louvre.
Javier Sierra: – My first thought was that France’s symbols of power were in danger. What they stole were pieces of the French royal treasury that had belonged to Napoleon, to the Bonaparte family, and which in some way signified power. And I immediately remembered that the other great symbol of power that has been in danger in France was the Crown of Thorns, which almost perished in the fire at Notre-Dame de Paris , the cathedral.
Javier provides that key, which sets something in motion in the minds of both writers, because the discussion begins to take on a detective-like quality. Sierra recalls that King Louis brought the Crown of Thorns to France, paying almost half of the French public treasury of the time, just to possess the crown that made the King of Kings, Christ, into the hands of a French king. And he confesses that with those ingredients alone, it already appeals to him as a novelistic premise.
The Child of Atocha is the patron saint of thieves in the New World and even today receives votive offerings in Madrid from the faithful who have been hitmen, drug traffickers, or convicts, to thank him for the end of their sentences.
Neville suggests that something like this inspired his book ‘The Magic Circle’, about Hitler’s ambition to gather the artifacts of power from the High Empire. Sierra then emphasizes: “These are not ordinary objects that have been stolen.”
Neville: Who’s stealing the crown jewels now? History may have something to do with what’s happening…
Sierra: – It’s a subject worthy of a novel. I believe the true power of art lies in its symbolic capacity. Art is a vast illusion, a trompe l’oeil. We are the ones who grant it its value. What makes one object stand out from others? That’s a mystery.
The story hunter, hunted
Sometimes the writer isn’t the hunter but rather the hunted by the story. Neville reminds Sierra that this just happened to him with his latest book and encourages him to share the story. And the writer reminisces: “I had just published ‘The Master of the Prado,’ I needed a vacation, so I chose the most remote, inaccessible place with the least cell service possible so I could spend some time there with my children and forget about everything. And while looking at cave paintings and rock art in Cantabria, suddenly the paintings, those ancient features on the rock, shouted at me that someone had to tell that story. And that’s how the idea for ‘The Master Plan’ came about. In other words, the story caught me off guard on vacation.”
The image of the Child arrived in Zacatecas with great devotion from the miners, but its miraculous fame spread to the prisons because of the story of a child who brought them food.
A change of pace. Before sitting down to talk, they had visited the Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha, because Neville was very keen to see the sanctuary of a Virgin Mary who had a great impact in the Americas. Once again, everything around them was filled with coincidences and mysteries, and the visit, minutes later, had the aura of a mystery story.
Neville: -I wanted to visit it because there’s a very different story in the New World about the Lady of Atocha. The Child, the little Infant Jesus, was brought there from the Old World. I think it was in the 18th century.
The image arrived in Zacatecas and sparked devotion among the miners, and its reputation for miracles extended prayers to many condemned prisoners. The writer recalls that the Child soon became the patron saint of thieves and explains why.
Neville: – In the prison, no one was allowed to bring food in case they smuggled weapons in, except for children. And they say that a little boy brought them bread and cheese and all sorts of things, but at night no one knew who he was. They did know that he wore old, worn-out espadrilles and a dusty hat. That’s why the thieves ended up worshipping the little statue with enormous devotion.
That’s why Javier emphasizes that he took the writer to the Basilica of Atocha as soon as she got off the plane.
Sierra: -When two writers get together, these things happen that Carl Gustav Jung would call synchronicities. It almost seemed as if they were waiting for us at the Basilica. Life is like that, and we writers take it, at least like her or me, appreciating the signs and things that happen around us.
Neville: -You have to be prepared to accept that magic is all around you. Many keep their eyes closed, but the truth is, we were looking for the Boy and at the same time we found many magical things alongside him.
“What I love most about Spain is the playing card museum in Vitoria-Gasteiz, the Fournier Museum. I don’t write books about cards, but I want to include their incredible images in a novel.”
Katherine Neville
Writer
They told us that they met the curator at the church, a fan of Javier’s novels, who gave them a complete tour and revealed some secrets. For example, she turned the image around and showed them votive offerings she had received, some of them exquisite, due to the historical connection between the Virgin of Atocha and the Royal Family . There were also veils and other offerings.
But there were also curiosities that fueled their curiosity: a compartment at the foot of the statue containing tiny sandals. And as if that weren’t enough, they learned that it receives offerings from people who travel from Caribbean countries, people involved in crime, former hitmen , drug traffickers who have been imprisoned, and relatives of inmates, all asking the Child for an end to their troubles or for their sentences to be lifted.
Mask of Souls Award
Neville’s visit is motivated by the Máscara de Ánimas award, which Javier Sierra received last year and which has been awarded to the American in 2025.
We asked Katherine Neville what she likes most about our country, which she knows so well.
Neville: – I want to mention something very unusual in Spain, something I’ve never seen anywhere else in the world: the playing card museum in Vitoria-Gasteiz, the Fournier Museum. It’s not just the famous playing cards or tarot decks; on a visit I made, they brought out secret cards, some so rare they’re also in the Morgan Library in New York. They don’t appear in my books, but I’d really like to include them in future works; they’re incredible paintings.
