Born in seventeen hundred and forty-one, Deacon Brodie was a respected Edinburgh citizen by day and a master criminal by night. A successful cabinet maker, Deacon of the Guild of Wrights and Masons, and even an Edinburgh City Councillor, Brodie was the picture of respectability. But there was a twist – he had a secret life fueled by a gambling habit, two mistresses, and five children kept in the shadows. Brodie's double life began in seventeen hundred and sixty-eight. He was a craftsman whose work was adored by Edinburgh's elite, often installing furniture and fitting locks in their homes. But he was drawn into the city's underworld of vice and crime, running up debts in gambling dens and leading a costly life with his mistresses. Desperate to solve his financial woes, Brodie turned to crime. His first major heist was robbing a bank using duplicate keys, netting him a hefty eight hundred pounds. Partnering with an English locksmith, George Smith, they initiated a crime wave across Edinburgh, even daring to steal Edinburgh University's silver mace. He was arrested and returned to Edinburgh in chains. His seventeen hundred and eighty-eight trial was damning, with evidence of his crimes found in his home, including duplicate keys and disguises. Convicted, Brodie was hanged at Edinburgh's Tolbooth – ironically on gallows he helped fund as a Councillor. But did Brodie cheat death? Rumors swirled that he survived the hanging using a steel collar and was seen in Paris. The likely truth, though, is that he met his end on the gallows. Deacon Brodie's legacy lives on in Edinburgh's Royal Mile with Deacon Brodie's Tavern named after him. It is also said to have inspired Robert Louis Stevenson's ""The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde"", a classic tale of a respectable man with a dark, hidden life.