The tale of Dr. Crippen bears all the trademarks of the classic English whodunit. It is a thrilling tale of death, love, sin and virtue. While stereotypical in nature, it is set apart from the ordinary by the motive of its crime, Freudian in nature and, in fact, reminiscent of the Jekyll and Hyde syndrome that fascinated period writers.
"There are two sides of the story - the physical, which is sordid, dreadful and revolting, and the spiritual, which is good and heroic," writes Filson Young, editor for the "Notable British Trial Series," which published the Trial of Hawley Harvey Crippen a decade after the sensational murder and subsequent trial occurred. "Such a story can only be understood by the aid
of the imagination; and it should remind us, in the judgments we pass on our fellow men, never to forget the dual nature of the human character and the mystery in virtue of which acts of great moral obliquity may march with conduct above the ordinary standards."
This recording is, in essence, a melodrama tracing the events leading up to and after one of Edwardian London's most publicized crimes - and, definitely, one of the most colorful of the Twentieth Century.
Its cast of characters includes a lovelorn murderer, his wicked wife, a demure heroine, a sharp-as-a-tack Scotland Yard detective and a sleuth-playing sea captain.
Certain histrionics have been very slightly altered, for effect, but the nature of the crime - its mechanics, its motive, its chronology and its results remain intact. Certain patches of dialogue have been constructed to explain a character's inner thoughts and devices. But, the personalities involved, in all their societal and anti-societal form, are as they were.
Written By - Gary Delsohn
Narrated By - Gary Delsohn
Published By : Listen & Live
Runtime : 4 hours 30 minutes
Categories : True Crime
True Crime
21st Century
Price : $17.99 $11.75
Lifts the lid off today's legal system with details more shocking than any fictional TV show More info... |
Written By - Patricia Cornwell
Narrated By - Lorelei King
Published By : Harper Collins UK
Runtime : 3 hours 34 minutes
Categories : True Crime
Social & Economic
True Crime
Price : $12.75
Using the first-hand expertise she has gained through writing the bestselling Dr Kay Scarpetta novels, Patricia Cornwell has used... More info... |
Written By - Ann Rule
Narrated By - Michele Pawk
Published By : Simon & Schuster
Runtime : 6 hours
Categories : True Crime
True Crime
Price : $29.95 $15.95
In the most extraordinary journey Ann Rule has ever undertaken, America's master of true crime has spent more than two decades researching the story of the Green River Killer, who murdered more... More info... |
Written By - Michael Connelly
Narrated By - Various
Published By : Hachette Audio
Runtime : 6 hours
Categories : True Crime
True Crime
Price : $31.98 $22.38
Crime Beat presents stories as fascinating as they are chilling, from the serial killer of young models who cuts a swath across the country, masquerades as two people until his hoax finally breaks... More info... |
Written By - Mark Bowden
Narrated By - Mark Bowden
Published By : Simon & Schuster
Runtime : 5 hours
Categories : Thrillers
True Crime
True Crime
Price : $30.00 $15.95
Who hasn't dreamed of finding a million dollars?
Joey Coyle was down and out - the affable, boyish South Philadelphian hadn't found dock work in months, he was living with his ailing... More info... |
