Hallie Rubenhold is an unfortunate historian. Every book she starts researching seems to take her in unexpected directions, and her latest study of the story of a murder is no exception.
The legend of Doctor Crippen – the henpecked-husband who murderously escaped a miserable marriage only to be caught mid-escape thanks to new-fangled wireless telegraph technology – has slipped confidently into popular culture. For decades, the tale has been an unsubtle warning to bossy wives. Sympathy shifted from the victim, Cora Crippen, to the poor, put-upon Doctor, whose only concern was for his innocent, young mistress, Ethel Le Neve. As is often the case, however, the facts don’t fit the fable.
In ‘Story of a Murder’, Rubenhold revisits a case we think we know, examining Hawley Harvey Crippen’s life from childhood in America, through his training as a homeopathic doctor (then considered mainstream medicine as it offered alternative, non-intrusive treatments for the delicate middle- and upper-classes), to his shifty business ventures and relationships with women. A pattern emerges, suggesting an attitude to females that brings a different perspective to Cora’s murder.
Cora and Ethel are also re-evaluated. Far from sour harridan, Cora is shown to be a resilient ‘glass half full’ person, who, having had the chance of motherhood snatched away, refocuses and follows a dream of performing on stage, making many friends and becoming an active fundraiser with the Music Hall Ladies’ Guild. These friends first challenge Crippen’s contradictory explanations for Cora’s disappearance and contact the Police. Ethel’s actions, on the other hand, suggest a shallow and vain person who may or may not have been party to her rival’s disposal beneath the coal cellar floor…
‘Story of a Murder’ shows how true crime may not be as true as we think. For over 100 years, Crippen and Ethel controlled the narrative, having silenced Cora forever. Now, Rubenhold speaks up for her at last.
'Story of a Murder: The Wives, The Mistress and Doctor Crippen' by Hallie Rubenhold was published by Doubleday in 2025. The paperback is due out in Summer 2026. This post is based on the Independent Bookshop hardback edition and appeared in issue 93 of the Yeovil Press.
