Jonathan Franzen reads at Serpentine, glasses stolen off face, ransom note delivered, and helicopter scrambled
That Bond Street jewellery robbery had nothing on this. Jonathan Franzer was minding his own business at a Serpentine Gallery party for the launch the of his new novel Freedom last night when someone came up to him and—yoink—pulled off his glasses, dropped a ransom note for £100,000 and jumped into the water. A man has been arrested. Franzen is described by onlookers as “extremely disgruntled.”
Jonathan Franzen: thief steals author’s glasses and demands ransom at book launch party
Snipe Highlights
Some popular articles from past years
- Number of people using Thames cable car plunges
- Nice map of London's fruit trees shows you where to pick free food
- The best church names in London, and where they come from
- Hope and despair in Woolwich town centre
- Peter Bayley has worked for 50 years as a cinema projectionist in East Finchley
- The five best places in London to have an epiphany
- The five spookiest abandoned London hospitals
- Nice Interactive timeline lets you follow Londoners' historic fight against racism
- Could red kites be London's next big nature success story?
- London has chosen its mayor, but why can’t it choose its own media?
© 2009-2026 Snipe London.





