Sherlock Holmes and the Hilldrop Crescent Mystery

Some people, even today, think that Dr. Crippen was wrongly convicted and should never have been hanged for the murder of his wife, Belle Elmore. The incomplete remains found in the basement of 39 Hilldrop Crescent on Wednesday 13th July, 1910 were not enough for an absolute identification, although given that Crippen along with his lover, Ethel Le Neve, had apparently fled by boat to Canada, there seemed to be damning circumstantial evidence. As his ship entered Quebec they were both arrested by Walter Dew, an experienced Scotland Yarder who had been involved with the 'Jack the Ripper' investigation. He had been tipped off as to their presence by the vessel's captain, who had made the first recorded use of the new Marconigram resulting in the capture of a murderer. The subsequent trial at the Old Bailey was a sensation never again to be repeated.


Here for the first time you can read both sides of the story. First the definitive facts of the case as outlined by award winning Sunday Times journalist, David James Smith, whose book, Supper with the Crippens, is widely recognised as being the last word on the subject. Then there is the clever fiction weaved by master story teller, Val Andrews in which he yet again proves, as Sherlock Holmes stated, that 'It may seem to point very straight to one thing, but if you shift your own point of view a little, you may find it pointing in an equally uncompromising manner to something entirely different'. It is left to the reader to decide which version of events of 100 years ago they prefer to accept.