Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen
Writing the Dr. Crippen story provided me with a wonderful opportunity to combine two of my fondest loves: the Whodunit and Turn-of-the-Century London, the latter of which I have been amassing data for years, compiling it into an unpublished manuscript aimed some day (alas!) for publication. Rare indeed is a tale that blends all ingredients of the perfect murder mystery with all the elements of a Britain gone to memory. Needless to say, I jumped into the project with relish and came out of it wanting to know more than I could fit into this particular story. Who knows, Crippen and his lovely Ethel Le Neve a woman I've fallen in love with these last couple of weeks will probably head a chapter in my great historical text called "Let's Tryst Again Like We Did Last Summer."
Helping me to recreate for you the days of Crippen, Ethel, Belle and Inspector Dew, I turned to the following sources.
Books & Manuscripts:
Cullen, Tom The Mild Murderer Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1977.
Geringer, Joseph A Walk Through Late Victorian London Unpublished Mss.
Hall, Angus (ed.) Crimes of Horror NY: Crescent Books/BPC Publishing, 1976.
La Neve, Ethel Clara. Ethel Le Neve Her Life Story Manchester, England: Daisy Bank Printing & Publishing Co., 1911.
Young, Filson (ed.) Trial of Hawley Harvey Crippen (Records of Dr. Crippen Trial);
"Notable British Trial Series" London: William Hodge & Co, Ltd., 1920.
Various Contributors London NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993.
Website: Holloway (London North) Metropolitan Police
Lyrics: "Sweet Little Buttercup" from HMS Pinafore by William S. Gilbert & Sir Arthur Sullivan.
Lyrics: "Love Me, and the World is Mine" by Dave Reed, Jr. and Ernest R. Ball.