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Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress, and Dr. Crippen
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About This Book
This is the story of a murder, not a murderer . . . In Story of a Murder, bestselling author of The Five and celebrated historian Hallie Rubenhold reexamines the events leading up to the infamous Crippen murder from the perspectives of the three women at the center of it all. When Belle Elmore's remains were discovered in the basement of London's 39 Hilldrop Crescent in July 1910, the larger-than-life vaudevillian performer was launched into stardom she never achieved on the stage. Story of a Murder provides an intricately plotted, intimate look into the lives of three multifaceted women living during a time of electric progress and stifling Crippen's first wife, Charlotte, who died under mysterious circumstances; his mistress, Ethel, who claimed ignorance of his crime even as she escaped with Crippen disguised as his son; and Belle, the woman whose life Crippen took. Throughout the twentieth century, the infamous Crippen murder was told in such a way as to cast doubt on Crippen's guilt and to victim-blame his wife Cora for her own murder. It also astonishingly depicted Crippen's younger mistress, Ethel, as innocent of any involvement in the killing of her love rival. But new evidence unearthed by Rubenhold completely subverts this famous history, unravelling assumptions about the crime and deconstructing Edwardian beliefs about women, class aspiration, and the transatlantic world, ultimately proving that Charlotte, Belle, and Ethel were so much more than the passive victims history has portrayed them as.
Reviews
"Essential reading for anyone who may believe the past was a gentler, romantic time for women."
"Masterfully reinvestigates an infamous case in a thoroughly modern way, revealing the women behind the gruesome headlines and restoring dignity to Belle Elmore."
"A satisfying read that gives the impression that some new justice has been done."
"Rubenhold doesn't theorise...but simply tells the story as completely and accurately as possible ..."
"But Hallie Rubenhold goes further than other authors: she examines the contrasting figures of Ethel and Belle within their particular contexts, turning the crude stereotypes of the murder trial upside down."
"It is no accident that she, bold and magnificent, rather than mild and mousy Crippen, looks out from the cover of this book."
"Astonishing and deeply researched ..."
"Rubenhold's energy as a researcher is indefatigable, and admirable ..."
"Story of a Murder's finely layered portrait of a hypocritical Edwardian society, where concealments lay behind every door, is the greater achievement."
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