Respected tradesman by day and thief by night, William Brodie, commonly known by the honorific Deacon Brodie, is one of Edinburgh’s most enduring legends. Like most folklore, the story of Deacon Brodie has been distilled to point we only see William Brodie as a cautionary tale of duality. We forget that Brodie was as successful as any commoner in Edinburgh society with the appendant friends and enemies persons of standing collect. Lost in the lore are the portions of Brodie’s history that ar