Body in the basement: Dr Crippen and the 'crime of the century'
HistoryExtra podcast
03/28/25
•47m
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In 1910, music hall performer Belle Elmore went missing. Her husband Dr Hawley Harvey Crippen claimed Belle had gone to America to visit a dying relative. But before long, Crippen's stories began to unravel and the doctor went on the run, triggering an international manhunt. Hallie Rubenhold re-examines Crippen's crimes in her new book Story of a Murder, and she spoke to Ellie Cawthorne about what this infamous case can reveal about medicine, the music hall and women's lives at the time.
(Ad) Hallie Rubenhold is the author of Story of a Murder: The Wives, the Mistress and Dr Crippen (Transworld Publishers, 2025). Buy it now from Waterstones: https://go.skimresources.com?id=71026X1535947&xcust=historyextra-social-histboty&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.waterstones.com%2Fbook%2Fstory-of-a-murder%2Fhallie-rubenhold%2F2928377304799.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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(Ad) Ali Watkins is the author of The Next One Is for You: A True Story of Guns, Country, and the IRA's Secret American Army (Little Brown, 2025). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Next-One-You-Country-American/dp/0316538272/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
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(Ad) Mike Rapport is the author of City of Light, City of Shadows: Paris in the Belle Époque (Bridge Street Press, 2024). Buy it now from Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/City-Light-Shadows-Paris-%C3%89poque/dp/0349128162/?tag=bbchistory045-21&ascsubtag=historyextra-social-histboty.
The HistoryExtra podcast is produced by the team behind BBC History Magazine.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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