Montmorency

"Montmorency had the answer: He would become his own accomplice. His old self would become the servant to his new self."

—Montmorency

Montmorency is a historical fiction literature series, set in Victorian England. When a thief who gets into a nasty accident with a glass rooftop while trying to flee from the police who caught him robbing a house, a kind doctor named Farcett performs surgery on him and saves his life. In return, the thief is forced to serve as a practice dummy during weekly sessions at an open house, facing prejudice and mockery from the other doctors. He then decides to assume a new personality when he escapes, to become a man of luxury while still committing thefts to support his new lifestyle. Eventually, he gets tired of having to rob all the time to support himself. The solution to his dilemma comes one day, when he saves a fat man named Fox Selwyn, who takes a liking to Montmorency immediately. Fox Slewyn reveals that he works for the government, finding threats to national security and Montmorency decides to join him using his knowledge as an expert thief. However, their new friendship is strained until Montmorency reveals his dark past to Fox Slewyn.

Tropes used in Montmorency include:

Absurdly Spacious Sewer
- Actually, looking at the sewers that were being used in London at the time, it's really not that absurd.
Becoming the Mask: While the protagonist always intended to become a man of leisure in his upper-crust role, he hadn't expected the Heel Face Turn it also prompted.
Bolivian Army Ending: The last book. Oh my god, the last book.
- Word of God says that she's having problems with the sixth book...
Chessmaster
Dark and Troubled Past
Family-Unfriendly Death: Can you say Fox-Selwyn? I mean, he's shot repeatedly then pickled, then shipped to Montmorency with a shark. Also disgusting.
Fan Disservice: Cissie
- She is later wealthier enough to get a mole removed and able to style her other features in a more flattering way, but remains an unpleasant person.
Heel Face Turn: Subverted. Montmorency was a thief, but ends up working for the British government. However, Scarper is still not nice.
Ho Yay: Lots between Montmorency and Farcett
- And later, Frank and his anarchist Italian ~~boy~~friend.
  - Would that be Foe Yay?
Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Vi and her mother, although it's not stated explicitly, just strongly implied.
In Vino Veritas: Happens in the second book, when Montmorency is on opium.
Jekyll and Hyde: Subverted with Montmorency and Scarper
Karma Houdini: Montmorency allows someone else to be convicted of one of his thefts and the guy is executed for it (and other crimes)
May–December Romance: Possibly between Montmorency and Vi; it doesn't help that their ages are never explicitly stated in the series.
Mistaken for Gay: In the second book, someone wonders if Montmorency is one of those men with "exotic" tastes.
Ms. Fanservice: Vi in the second book.
Oblivious to Love: Farcett and Maggie.
The Plan: Repeatedly, sometimes for the most minute cover-up, such as hats.
Planet of Steves: The servants at Bargles are all called Sam.
Police Are Useless
Victorian London / Victorian Britain
We Can Rebuild Him: A non-science fiction example - at the beginning of the first book, Montmorency is badly injured in the course of a theft, and gets his body repaired by Dr. Farcett, who at that point only knows him as a nameless guinea pig.