HALLIE RUBENHOLD: THE STORY OF A MURDER

The page-turning retelling of the historical true-crime story of infamous wife-murderer Dr Crippen, brought to justice by an extraordinary group of women

On 1 February, 1910, vivacious music-hall 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.

‘Fascinating. It’s about time Belle became the hero of her own story’

Val McDermid, bestselling author of the Karen Pirie series

Hallie Rubenhold is the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling and Baillie Gifford prize-winning author of The Five: The Women Killed by Jack the Ripper. A renowned social historian whose expertise lies in revealing stories of previously unknown women and episodes in history, she is the author of The Covent Garden Ladies which was the inspiration behind BBC TV’s ‘Harlots’. Her biographical work, Lady Worsley’s Whim, was dramatized by the BBC as ‘The Scandalous Lady W’. She has also written two acclaimed novels Mistress of My Fate and The French Lesson which give voice to the women written out by eighteenth-century literature. She lives in London with her husband.

Criminally Good Books will be supplying copies at the event with signings taking place after the talk.

Please be advised that the Piccadilly multi-storey car park closes during the event and should not be used by guests. The car park at Clifford's Tower is the nearest 24-hour access.