Story of a Murder

About the book

BY THE AUTHOR OF MULTI-AWARDWINNING #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER: THE FIVE, THE WOMEN KILLED BY JACK THE RIPPER

A fascinating feminist examination of the historical true-crime story of infamous wife-murderer Dr Crippen in Edwardian England, brought to justice by an extraordinary group of musichall women

'Unbelievably addictive. Written with a unique combination of sleuthing, storytelling and compassion' LUCY WORSLEY
'Brilliantly atmospheric, forensically researched. I could not recommend it more' RACHEL JOYCE
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No murderer should ever be the keeper of their victim's story …

On 1 February, 1910, vivacious musichall performer, Belle Elmore, suddenly vanished from her north London home, causing alarm among her circle of female friends, the entertainers of the Music Hall Ladies’ Guild who demanded an immediate investigation.

They could not have known what they would provoke: the unearthing of a gruesome secret, followed by a fevered manhunt for the prime suspect: Belle’s husband, medical fraudster, Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen.

Hiding in the shadows of this evergreen tale is Crippen’s typist and lover, Ethel Le Neve – was she really just ‘an innocent young girl’ in thrall to a powerful older man as so many people have since reported?

In this epic examination of one of the most infamous murders of the twentieth century, prizewinning social historian Hallie Rubenhold gives voice to those who have never properly been heard – the women.

Featuring a carnival cast of eccentric entertainers, glamorous lawyers, zealous detectives, medics and liars, STORY OF A MURDER is meticulously researched and multi-layered, offering the reader an electrifying snapshot of Britain and America at the dawn of the modern era.
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'Does for the Crippen Murder case what THE FIVE did for the victims of Jack the Ripper. Forensic research and insistent sympathetic writing. I loved it' PROFESSOR DAVID WILSON, BBC 1, The Crime Squad