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A Philosophy of Thieves

Part of The Canarvier Files

Author Fran Wilde On Tour
Hardcover
$28.00 US
| $37.99 CAN
Kensington | Erewhon Books
On sale Sep 30, 2025 | 368 Pages | 9781645661948
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Robin Hood meets Parasite meets Six of Crows in multi-award winning author Fran Wilde’s thrilling, high-tech adventure heist wrapped in a futuristic fantasy where thieves are entertainment for the wealthy.

The Canarviers are the premier performance thieves in New Washington, blending astonishing acrobatics, clever misdirection, and daring escapes to entertain their rich patrons. As King Canarvier has always told his children, their work is art. Who else could titillate audiences with illicit history lessons and tease them through the gaps in their much-prized security?

Now that they’re adults, King’s children feel their divisions more than their bonds. Roosa attends an exclusive finishing university, blending in so well she’s unsure where she belongs. Her brother Dax craves a chance to prove himself, stifling under his father’s caution.

Then King disappears.

With only days to buy mercy before their father is lost forever, Roo and Dax must compete in a high-stakes Grand Heist, pushing down their resentments to work together. Against a technocrat wagering more than he can lose, a security chief with a taste for pain, and a society beauty with secrets of her own, any misstep promises catastrophic ruin.

But Canarviers are artists. And they perform best when the pressure is on . . .
Praise for A Philosophy of Thieves

“Fascinating, thrilling, and completely irresistible! A Philosophy of Thieves is a wonderfully unique, heist-filled novel set in an expertly-drawn world. Highly recommended!” —Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop

“Remarkably imaginative and fun!” —Shannon Chakraborty, NYT-bestselling author of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

“Fran Wilde delivers the thrills in this roaring twenties cyberpunk mashup of heists, counter-heists, family lies and family ties. When the Canarviers start stealing, you can’t stop reading.” —Paolo Bacigalupi, Hugo-Award winning internationally bestselling author and National Book Award finalist

“The Great Gatsby meets Cirque du Soleil in a high tech cli-fi adventure set in a drowned world. A thrilling mix of sophisticated heists, astonishing tech and characters who are never quite what they seem, a Philosophy of Thieves steals your heart right out of your chest and leaves you applauding the theft. Bravo and encore!.” —R.S.A. Garcia, Nebula and Sturgeon Award winning author of The Nightward

“Think you know heists? You haven't seen a Canarvier heist. Artful, incisive, and oh-so-timely. Fran's done it again: stolen our hearts.” —Rachel Hartman, New York Times bestselling author of Seraphina

“A whirlwind, glittering novel of fabulous fashion and thrilling entertainment in a future Washington. I was entranced!” —Aliette de Bodard, award-winning author of Navigational Entanglements

“A Philosophy of Thieves is a multi-faceted delight, full - like every great heist - of thrilling adventures, masterful misdirections, and glittering spectacles, along with fascinating worldbuilding. All hail the Canarviers!” —Stephanie Burgis, author of Wooing the Witch Queen and The Harwood Spellbook

“A Philosophy of Thieves is a propulsive romp, full of twists and reveals that left me breathless. Wilde’s intricate near-future world holds a mirror up to our own, skewering excess and access while delivering thrills and an unexpectedly tender family story. The Canarviers will dazzle and delight you, right before they steal your heart.” —Victor Manibo, author of The Sleepless and Escape Velocity
Fran Wilde is a Compton Crook Award and two-time Nebula Award-winning author whose novels and short stories have been finalists for six Nebula Awards, a World Fantasy Award, four Hugo Awards, three Locus Awards, and a Lodestar. She teaches for the Genre Fiction MFA concentration at Western Colorado University and the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She also writes nonfiction for publications including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Tor.com. She lives outside Washington DC and can be found online at franwilde.net.
Fran Wilde View titles by Fran Wilde

Discussion Guide for A Philosophy of Thieves

Provides questions, discussion topics, suggested reading lists, introductions and/or author Q&As, which are intended to enhance reading groups’ experiences.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Read More
additional book photo

About

Robin Hood meets Parasite meets Six of Crows in multi-award winning author Fran Wilde’s thrilling, high-tech adventure heist wrapped in a futuristic fantasy where thieves are entertainment for the wealthy.

The Canarviers are the premier performance thieves in New Washington, blending astonishing acrobatics, clever misdirection, and daring escapes to entertain their rich patrons. As King Canarvier has always told his children, their work is art. Who else could titillate audiences with illicit history lessons and tease them through the gaps in their much-prized security?

Now that they’re adults, King’s children feel their divisions more than their bonds. Roosa attends an exclusive finishing university, blending in so well she’s unsure where she belongs. Her brother Dax craves a chance to prove himself, stifling under his father’s caution.

Then King disappears.

With only days to buy mercy before their father is lost forever, Roo and Dax must compete in a high-stakes Grand Heist, pushing down their resentments to work together. Against a technocrat wagering more than he can lose, a security chief with a taste for pain, and a society beauty with secrets of her own, any misstep promises catastrophic ruin.

But Canarviers are artists. And they perform best when the pressure is on . . .

Reviews

Praise for A Philosophy of Thieves

“Fascinating, thrilling, and completely irresistible! A Philosophy of Thieves is a wonderfully unique, heist-filled novel set in an expertly-drawn world. Highly recommended!” —Sarah Beth Durst, New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop

“Remarkably imaginative and fun!” —Shannon Chakraborty, NYT-bestselling author of The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

“Fran Wilde delivers the thrills in this roaring twenties cyberpunk mashup of heists, counter-heists, family lies and family ties. When the Canarviers start stealing, you can’t stop reading.” —Paolo Bacigalupi, Hugo-Award winning internationally bestselling author and National Book Award finalist

“The Great Gatsby meets Cirque du Soleil in a high tech cli-fi adventure set in a drowned world. A thrilling mix of sophisticated heists, astonishing tech and characters who are never quite what they seem, a Philosophy of Thieves steals your heart right out of your chest and leaves you applauding the theft. Bravo and encore!.” —R.S.A. Garcia, Nebula and Sturgeon Award winning author of The Nightward

“Think you know heists? You haven't seen a Canarvier heist. Artful, incisive, and oh-so-timely. Fran's done it again: stolen our hearts.” —Rachel Hartman, New York Times bestselling author of Seraphina

“A whirlwind, glittering novel of fabulous fashion and thrilling entertainment in a future Washington. I was entranced!” —Aliette de Bodard, award-winning author of Navigational Entanglements

“A Philosophy of Thieves is a multi-faceted delight, full - like every great heist - of thrilling adventures, masterful misdirections, and glittering spectacles, along with fascinating worldbuilding. All hail the Canarviers!” —Stephanie Burgis, author of Wooing the Witch Queen and The Harwood Spellbook

“A Philosophy of Thieves is a propulsive romp, full of twists and reveals that left me breathless. Wilde’s intricate near-future world holds a mirror up to our own, skewering excess and access while delivering thrills and an unexpectedly tender family story. The Canarviers will dazzle and delight you, right before they steal your heart.” —Victor Manibo, author of The Sleepless and Escape Velocity

Author

Fran Wilde is a Compton Crook Award and two-time Nebula Award-winning author whose novels and short stories have been finalists for six Nebula Awards, a World Fantasy Award, four Hugo Awards, three Locus Awards, and a Lodestar. She teaches for the Genre Fiction MFA concentration at Western Colorado University and the Writing for Children and Young Adults MFA at Vermont College of Fine Arts. She also writes nonfiction for publications including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Tor.com. She lives outside Washington DC and can be found online at franwilde.net.
Fran Wilde View titles by Fran Wilde

Guides

Discussion Guide for A Philosophy of Thieves

Provides questions, discussion topics, suggested reading lists, introductions and/or author Q&As, which are intended to enhance reading groups’ experiences.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

Read More

Photos

additional book photo

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