Story of a Murder

The Wives, the Mistress, and Dr. Crippen

De: Hallie Rubenhold

Narrado por: Juliet Stevenson

*The International Bestseller*

*Winner of the Clue Award - True Crime Book of the Year*

This is the story of a murder, not a murderer . . .

In this epic examination of one of the most infamous murders of the twentieth century, bestselling author of The Five, Hallie Rubenhold, gives voice to those who were never properly heard--the women.

On February 1, 1910, the vivacious, diamond-adorned music hall performer Belle Elmore suddenly vanished from her home, causing alarm among her friends, the entertainers of the Music Hall Ladies’ Guild. Their demands for an investigation would lead to the unearthing of a gruesome secret and trigger a fevered international manhunt for Belle’s husband, medical fraudster Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen.

Ethel Le Neve, Crippen’s typist and lover, who fled with Crippen in disguise, has always hidden in the shadows of this tale--was she really just "an innocent young girl" in thrall to a powerful older man? And was there an equally sinister story behind the death of Crippen’s first wife, Charlotte?

Brimming with twists and featuring a carnival cast of eccentric entertainers, star lawyers, zealous detectives, medics and liars, Story of a Murder offers an electrifying snapshot of Britain and America at the dawn of the modern era.

Research, research, research

Thorough with insight into late 1800 early 1900 civilization, women’s issues, myotonic injustices, and the worm holes that writers of history can create!

loved it!

wow was this an amazing book! I'd heard of Dr Crippen peripherally over the years but didn't really know the story. I'm so glad this book was my first real introduction to it! Smart, insightful and especially full of genuine interest and affection for her female subjects. We should all be so lucky as to have friends like Belle Elmore did. I may buy this book in a hard copy so I can read more on this by looking at the footnotes and annotations. Can't recommend this book highly enough!

Great but none of the heart of The Five

Great but none of the heart of The Five. It was also longer than it needed to be. I wanted to love it as much as The Five but just didn’t.

Detailed and fascinating

This book gives all the facts of the case, not making it into a love story between two star crossed lovers. Recent works have demonized the victim, Crippen's wife Belle but this book shows her in a realistic light leaving the reader to make judgements for themselves. I learned so much. It was a pleasure to listen to.

Rex Manning?

I loved every moment of it. Until Rex Manning. I'm hung up there, so close to the important and well-earned end. Can't get past him.

Attention to detail

I really enjoyed the details and authenticity. It was also very interesting to learn about the way of life during that time period.

Amazing research

Hallie Rubenhold has done it again. As with The Five, she mines historical records to turn a supposedly well-known crime on its head.

A bit too verbose

But really good point about not allowing the destroyers to tell their victim's stories. Look at how modern day American fascists are erasing the representation of black, Hispanic, Asian, LGBTQ, women's faces from the books, documents and culture of this once representative country.