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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Dr Crippen
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(Hawley Harvey Crippen, 1862–1910) American doctor whose poisoning of his wife, a would-be music hall artiste calling herself Belle Elmore, was one of the most sensational cases of the early 20C. After Mrs Crippen mysteriously vanished, Crippen's mistress Ethel le Neve moved into his home at 39 Hilldrop Crescent, where Belle's body was hidden in the coal cellar. The story had a double appeal. It was a very middle-class crime of passion in a respectable area of north London. And the manner of the couple's arrest was extremely dramatic.
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When remains of the body were found, in 1910, they fled to Canada disguised as Mr Robinson and his son. But the captain of the SS Montrose was suspicious; he sent a message to Scotland Yard by wireless telegraphy (it is the first known use of radio in making an arrest). Chief Inspector Dew set off in pursuit in a faster ship and boarded the Montrose in the St Lawrence River. Meanwhile the use of telegraphy meant that newspapers on shore were able to report every stage of the chase before the culprit even knew he had been discovered. Crippen was hanged but Ethel was acquitted; she lived until 1967.
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