Story of a Murder

The long-awaited new book by the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of The Five, the feminist retelling of the historical true-crime story of infamous wife-murderer Dr Crippen in Edwardian England, brought to justice by an extraordinary group of music hall women.

The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller

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

From the award-winning, Sunday Times bestselling historian and author of true crime sensation The Five - The Women Killed by Jack the Ripper, winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-fiction.

'Thoughtful, humane, gripping. The kind of popular history you devour in one sitting' - Sunday Times, Dominic Sandbrook

'A finely layered portrait of a hypocritical Edwardian society' - Financial Times

'An exceptional achievement. I was gripped from the very first page' - The Secret Barrister, Sunday Times bestselling author

'I couldn't put it down' - Bonnie Garmus, bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry

'Under her pen, history comes alive' - Professor Dame Sue Black

No murderer should ever be the keeper of their victim's story...

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.

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.

Praise for Story of a Murder

'Gripping and eye-opening' - I-news, Book to Watch Out For

'Reads like a great thriller. I inhaled it' - Bella Mackie, bestselling author of How to Kill Your Family

'A unique combination of sleuthing, storytelling and compassion' - Lucy Worsley, bestselling author and historian

'Fascinating. It's about time Belle became the hero of her own story' - Val McDermid, bestselling author of the Karen Pirie series

'As compelling as any crime drama' - S J Parris, bestselling author of the Giordano Bruno series

'I had my hand over my wide-open mouth...I can't recommend it more—I will be thinking about it for a very long time.' - Rachel Joyce, bestselling author of The Homemade God

'Takes us beyond the world of Dr Crippen into the lives impacted by him and the society in which he moved. Terrific' - Ian Rankin, bestselling author of the Rebus series

'Compelling to the very last page' - Denise Mina, award-winning author of Reese's Book Club pick, Conviction

'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

'Breathtaking. Rubenhold has not only produced a thrilling reassessment of a notorious crime, but an impressive portrait of an age' - Spectator