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Supper with the Crippens
On sale
9th December 2021
Price: £21.99
Genre
Edwardian London in 1910, the notorious tale of Dr Crippen and Ethel Le Neve re-investigated by a prizewinning journalist.
‘The definitive account of a crime which still intrigues, and to an extent baffles, aficionados of murder’ P D James
At a time when Edwardian Britain seemed a golden place, basking in its imperial glory, Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen and his wife Belle lived among the suburban villas of North London, renting a house at 39 Hilldrop Crescent. After supper on 31 January 1910, their friends went home and Crippen killed Belle with poison, dismembered her body and buried some of her remains beneath the brick floor of the coal cellar. Crippen never admitted killing his wife and took the secrets of the crime with him when he was hanged, following his conviction for murder.
It is assumed that Crippen killed for the love of his mistress, Ethel le Neve. They began living together as man and wife, but under intense suspicion they fled disguised as father and son. The chase – indeed everything about the murder – was reported in fine detail, in Britain, in America and the rest of the western world. Crippen was finally arrested and with Ethel was brought back to England for trial.
David James Smith has investigated afresh this celebrated murder case, and his researches have uncovered unexpected and startling information about ‘Chamber of Horrors’ stalwart Dr Crippen, Belle and Ethel.
‘The definitive account of a crime which still intrigues, and to an extent baffles, aficionados of murder’ P D James
At a time when Edwardian Britain seemed a golden place, basking in its imperial glory, Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen and his wife Belle lived among the suburban villas of North London, renting a house at 39 Hilldrop Crescent. After supper on 31 January 1910, their friends went home and Crippen killed Belle with poison, dismembered her body and buried some of her remains beneath the brick floor of the coal cellar. Crippen never admitted killing his wife and took the secrets of the crime with him when he was hanged, following his conviction for murder.
It is assumed that Crippen killed for the love of his mistress, Ethel le Neve. They began living together as man and wife, but under intense suspicion they fled disguised as father and son. The chase – indeed everything about the murder – was reported in fine detail, in Britain, in America and the rest of the western world. Crippen was finally arrested and with Ethel was brought back to England for trial.
David James Smith has investigated afresh this celebrated murder case, and his researches have uncovered unexpected and startling information about ‘Chamber of Horrors’ stalwart Dr Crippen, Belle and Ethel.
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Reviews
David James Smith, a journalist, has been meticulous in his research and this book is likely to remain the definitive account of a crime which still intrigues, and to an extent baffles, aficionados of murder
Smith gives a superb psychological insight into a man who was thought to be inscrutable and inexpressive ... Smith's impartial journalistic eye gives a balanced account of the events, untouched by the hyperbole so prevalent in many contemporary accounts
Fascinating retelling of the gruesome suburban murder that became the media sensation of 1910