欧宝娱乐

鈥淣o murderer should ever be the guardian of their victim鈥檚 story, and yet this is the role that Hawley Harvey Crippen has always held.鈥�

Hallie Rubenhold, author of The Five, is back and this time deep diving into the North London Cellar Murder. This is a case that I had never heard of before picking up this book but was instantly sucked into once I started the story.

鈥淢urders are horrific events鈥� devastating, squalid and vicious. There is nothing that can mitigate the destructive impact of a life deliberately extinguished.鈥�

Hawley Harvey Crippen was a homeopathic doctor, medicine dispenser, and swindler who was hanged in 1910 for the murder of his second wife, Cora Henrieetta Crippen, also known as Belle Elmore. Rubenhold takes us on a journey following Crippen鈥檚 life from his first wife, his second wife, his mistress, and his murder trial. She showcases the various levels of this story and all the different versions that have been told by publishers, and by Crippen and his mistress Ethel.

鈥淓ach account seems to contain at least a germ of truth, but the poetic license surrounding it makes it challenging to discern where the reality ends and the tall tale begins.鈥�

This story sought to bring the truth about Belle Elmore to life, not just the fabricated lies that Crippen, Ethel, and others created after her murder to try and hide their crimes. It also challenged the possibility that Belle was not his first murder, his first wife Charlotte, died of a supposed stroke in 1892 at the age of 33. From the beginning, I was sucked into this tale of a medical doctor turned swindler and the murder that followed.

Belle Elmore was a very interesting woman. She was resilient and undaunted by what life threw at her. When Crippen convinced her to get an oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries) and ruined her chances of having a family, she turned that passion into her career as a singer and entertainer. She joined the Music Hall Ladies鈥� Guild and found a family who actually cared for her and it鈥檚 because of them that her murder was discovered. They didn鈥檛 give up or believe Crippen鈥檚 lies and they fought to find the truth which eventually led to the finding of her body. I really enjoyed learning about her story and how she made the best of her life. It does suck though that she has been sensationalized as a horrible woman who deserved her fate because of Crippen鈥檚 lies and those who believed his innocence's determination to cast her as such.

Ethel La Neve was Crippen鈥檚 typist and mistress for close to ten years. He basically groomed her into having an affair with him, which is so gross but sadly was common during that time. Ethel was an extremely interesting woman who wanted more from her life and potentially went to deadly lengths to get it. She was an accomplished liar and swindler, just like Crippen. She knew how to manipulate those around her in an attempt to get what she wanted. But, because she is such an unreliable narrator, it is very hard to determine from her many different versions of events what is true. Rubenhold does a great job at presenting these different versions and trying to parse out what might be the truth within.

While Ethel clearly had some part of this murder, she was acquitted of any wrongdoing because the inspectors really just wanted Crippen鈥檚 conviction, not hers. They viewed her as just a normal Edwardian woman who had been corrupted by Crippen and led astray. I was very surprised by this because I really thought after all the work they put into Crippen鈥檚 case that they would try to convict Ethel just as hard, but it was the opposite. Ethel lived a life after the trial and eventually would marry and have children, children who never knew about her past, which is very surprising. I really like that Rubenhold included Ethel鈥檚 life after the trial, especially considering she was interviewed multiple times afterwards and presented all new lies to the world.

Crippen鈥檚 trial was very well publicized and documented.. He really tried to sensationalize his love for Ethel in the hopes it would sway the courts to not hang him. This book provides quotes from his letters and the trial that really helped showcase the different sides of this man, especially that the man who didn鈥檛 really seem remorseful. Like everyone, there are multiple sides to each person and I think Rubenhold really does a great job at showcasing that for Crippen, Ethel, and Belle. She doesn鈥檛 just present one side of the story, she attempts to present all of it, which I think she sums up perfectly in this quote.

鈥淚t feels uncomfortable to acknowledge nuance in something so atrocious as a murder, but human beings are morally ambiguous creatures and therefore nothing is ever as straightforward as we would like it to be鈥thel was a devoted sister and mother; Crippen was once just a young man who wanted to be a doctor; and Belle was not perfect. However, she does not deserve to be depicted or remembered in the manner that she has been. Her murderer should not have the final word.鈥�

Overall, just like her first book, I was absorbed into this story of murder and I couldn鈥檛 put it down. While I may have never heard of this murder before, I still loved getting sucked into all the different layers that lead to the death of a Belle. I highly recommend this book if you like reading about murders and true crime.

TW: abortion; murder; sterilization; grooming; miscarriage; disturbing medical discussions and procedures for women; domestic abuse;

*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*